"Upheld by the Word" by Debra Courtney

I know what you’re probably wondering, "If we can operate in the same freedom, authority, and power that Jesus did, why are so many Christians living under their circumstances instead of ruling over them?  Stressful, overextended, not enough time in the day, family member is not acting right, sickness, can’t sleep, not enough money to meet the financial obligations, state of the world, the state of our country, on and on… "

The answer is simple:  Most believers don’t inquire of the LORD before they speak and act.  Instead, they get in a hurry and come up with their own plan.  That’s something Jesus never did.  He always waited on God’s instructions.   

Take, for example, how He handled what He found in the temple in Mark 11.  On the first day that He went in there and saw the ungodly activities that were going on, all He did was stand around and watch.  “He entered Jerusalem, then entered the Temple. He looked around, taking it all in…” (verse 11).  Isn’t that amazing?  Jesus was there watching the ugly behavior of the money-changers as they did what they had always done, and He did nothing but just watch!  Can you imagine him just walking around the temple, both inside and out, taking it all in and not saying a word, just looking and listening?  Can you imagine the look on his face, intensity in his eyes, his mannerisms of his walk and body stance? Why didn't the Father say something to Jesus then.  Why wait?  Say something now.  Look at how people are behaving int the house of God.  What do you think his Father told him later on?  

On the next day, he had a job God had given Him, and he put the devil on the run.  You and I can do the same thing by faith! If we’ll listen to the voice of God, we can find out where He wants us to go, what He wants us to say, and what He wants us to do. 

We can fulfill His will in every area of our lives, and if the devil tries to stop us, we can cast him out!  “But how can I be sure I’ll hear God’s voice?” you might ask.  You’ve made Jesus The LORD of your life, haven’t you?  That means He’s your Shepherd and you’re His sheep, and according to the Bible, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out... he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow.” (John 10:3-5)MSG 

Actually, that’s a good place for you and me to start hearing and speaking God’s WORD. Instead of saying things like, “God doesn’t speak to me,” start saying, “I know Jesus.  He’s my Shepherd, and I hear and know His voice,” then spend some time with Him in the WORD and tune in by faith, expecting to hear from Him.  Words from heaven are available to you each and every 24/7/365, if we know Jesus as our LORD and Savior.  He has guaranteed it in the Scriptures.  

He promised the Holy Spirit would teach us all things and guide us into all truth (John 14:26, 16:13).  He said if we’ll ask for wisdom in faith without wavering, He’ll give it to us liberally (James 1:5-6).  

Believe it and inquire of Him.  He’ll give us the words, then when you and I speak those words and act on them in faith, He’ll back them with His own power.  It’s not our job to figure out how everything is going to happen.  Our job is just to pray, obey, and say what God says.  Because He’s already upholding all things by the WORD of His power, as long as we stay on His WORD, it’s impossible for the devil or anyone else to defeat us.  No matter how hard they try to bring us down, we’re going to be upheld! 

The devil doesn’t have authority over any area of our life - not our health, our family, our finances, or anything else.  Jesus has defeated him completely, and as His joint heir, you and I have the power to put the devil on the run.  

Here are a few points to help us do it! 

Get on God’s WORD and stay there. “…Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son…This one perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says – powerful words! ” (Hebrews 1:1-3) MSG 

Operate like Jesus did. “…that I’m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me.” (John 8:28) MSG 

Don’t make something up. “Before long the crooks will be bankrupt; God-investors will soon own the store.” (Psalm 37:9) MSG 

Expect to hear from Him. “The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice.” (John 10:2-4) MSG.  Jesus’ words authorize and empower you. “Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making.” (John 6:63) MSG 

Don’t doubt!  Call things that are not as though they were!  Watch it manifest!

Click here to view a video of "Center" by Charlie Hall

My Wedding Day ~ A Guest Post by Melissa Driggers

Photo by Melissa Driggers

My Wedding Day

By

Melissa Driggers 

I don't often write about being single.  Mostly because while my "singleness" is a part of my life, it's simply not the main focus of my life or ministry. For today, however, I am choosing to talk about it a bit.  (This post is for everyone, so if you're not single, I hope you'll stick around!) 

I have an amazing, fulfilling life. I am surrounded by the incredible, devoted Godly men and women who challenge me, love me, bless me, minister to me, and just generally "put up" with me every day. My community is deep and wide with family and friends. Moments of loneliness do come, but they are very rare and usually short-lived. It wasn’t always that way, but God has transformed my heart over the years to bring me to this place.  

Yet even in this full life, there is a short list of things that occasionally make me “feel” single. One of those things is coming home from a trip to a quiet, empty home, with no one there to hug me and tell me I was missed. I don’t love that part of being single.  

Another is being sick, and this is probably when I "feel" it the most.  I really struggle emotionally and spiritually with being alone when I'm not well.  No one is here to hold my hand and tell me it's going to be OK, pray over me, drive me to the doctor, or bring me soup and meds. Once, while driving myself to the emergency room, I completely lost it. In a feverish panic, crying out, “God, I’m going to die alone!” Oh, the melodrama of a single Italian woman with a fever!  

And then came October 17, 2011.  

October.  My favorite month of the year. I love the crisp air, the colors, the sound of the leaves blowing, and the promise of the harvest.  In fact, I've often said that if God called me to marriage, I would want an October wedding.   

On this beautiful day in October, though, sickness would enter my life in a way I'd never known before.  This wasn’t the flu. This wasn’t a cold. This wasn’t about me driving myself to the local drugstore to get my own OJ and cold meds. This was way bigger than that.  

About an hour after I got the news, I was driving across town to my parents’ house to tell them. That hour had been a whirlwind of information overload and emotional chaos. And as the surreal became real…  

Oh my God. I have cancer. And I’m single. 

I immediately started to pray, and to this day, I remember my exact words in that prayer.  

OK, God, this is going to be a weak area for me spiritually, so I need you to perfect my weakness in your strength. I mean, like right now. Set me like a seal upon your heart.  

From that moment on, as tough as this road has been, not for one day have I felt single or alone in this journey. Not for one second. His presence has been felt at every step – in every victory and in every setback. 

I have also been lavished with love and the presence of my community. I have continually thanked and praised Him for filling loneliness with the prayers and presence of my community. But God would show me something unexpected about my heart. He would show me that as wonderful as my community is, they are not the reason that I have never felt alone in this crazy ride through cancer. 

While working on my book and reflecting on verses that I’d read a hundred times before, the familiar words suddenly jumped out at me in a way that I had never read them before. 

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope...“In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master’ … I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord." (Hosea 2:14-15, 19-20, NIV) 

Upon reading those familiar words, He captivated me with new truth. How had I missed it before?  I haven't felt single through this journey because quite possibly for the first time in my life, I have allowed Him to be my Husband. And just as that realization began to penetrate my heart, he allowed me to recall my prayer in the car on that dark day in October.   

I had prayed, “Set me like a seal upon your heart.”  (Song of Solomon 8:6) 

You see, His wedding vow had long before been spoken over me when I invited Him in to my heart, my mind, and all that I am.  But mine was spoken in the car that day when I prayed.  And I meant it.  From that point on, I had finally allowed Him to be the Husband that He always was.   

I don't know why I was so surprised by this.  He had been courting me all along. Just a few short months before that dark day in October, while in Africa, He revealed to me His promise that He would not relent until He had my whole heart.  He was preparing me to receive my dream of an October wedding and didn’t even know it.  

October 17th was the day I found out I had cancer.  But that day was about so much more than that.   

October 17th was my wedding day. 



Melissa Driggers

www.infieldsofgrace.com

About Me:  Reminded daily that I’m being chased by the One I pursue. Cancer survivor,  encourager, teacher, speaker, blogger, writer.  Passionate about relationships, coffee, books, my kids (who are “technically” canine but they think they are human), and cooking for the people I love.