"Why didn't you say something sooner," I replied to God; but no response. The next voice said, this is crazy and what will your wife say? Needless to say, I turned around and drove back, feeling the peace of God on me the further I drove. When I finally arrived back at Sheldon's, he was surprised by my offer but also knew it was God's will. He drove me back home in the car God wanted him to have and I was happy to give it. A few years later Sheldon gave me a white GM Safari van that someone had given him after he fixed it up. I drove it for a few years until I gave it to someone else who needed it more.
Speak faith-filled words. We are to live by faith and not by what we see or feel or think. We must stand on God's word. I read books on faith and many scriptures on faith. Remember you are building your faith; don't force others to join you unless they want to. Sure you may suffer some, even being uncomfortable or miserable for a while, but God will honor your faith. How do you expect to build your faith if you don't make the effort to lead the way, or it's not tested and/or seen by others? If everything went easy or smooth all the time, very little would be accomplished. A weightlifter gets stronger by adding more weights over the years of training. As they say, "No pain, no gain." And so it is with faith, but most of the pain comes from our emotions, from battling our fears or other people's fears, as seen when they sometimes accuse you of being foolish. As humans we try to avoid pain. We often think or say, I can do it if it doesn't hurt too much. (However, think of childbirth, and then the joy. Think of the Crucifixion and our salvation.) There are usually great rewards after pains of faith and trust.
One doesn't usually say, "Today, I'm going to build more faith" or, "tomorrow, I will start." Sure you can speak the words by faith or make certain mental preparations (which is good and necessary), but the real test or steps of faith come with each challenge we face in life. And over the years I have experienced greater challenges as different situations have arisen. The Bible says that God will not give us more than we can bear (I try to keep this truth in mind), but many of us give up way before that point, mostly because of fear rather than pain. If I'm experiencing pain (either physical or emotional), then I believe God can help me get through it—His way. We often forget how much God loves us, and that his desire is to see us healed—body, soul, and spirit. He also desires to see us grow to full maturity, and not just to save us from our sins.
I've experienced numerous "accidents" in building our house, plus a chainsaw accident, plus rusty metal and horses. But, I would not get a tetanus shot for protection. Another time, I experienced a cat bite on the back of my left hand. The infected wound turned to blood-poisoning, making my left hand swell up like a catcher's glove. I couldn't even bend my fingers, and the pus came out of the wound for over two weeks. I had to sleep with a plastic bag over my hand at night and I wore a long sleeve shirt during the day so that my wife wouldn't see the blue streaks that had gone up my arm to my shoulder. She had warn me to tell her if there were any signs. (I had blood-poisoning once before and went to a doctor, but now I was trusting Jesus.) She had also told me at that time of someone who recently had a cat bite infection that spread and the doctor had to remove his arm in order to save his life. Now there's a thought before taking a step of faith! But, just the day before I had read something and the words, "My Word" jumped off the page and into my mind. So I told God, " I will stand on your word, for you are my healer." I called my friend Sheldon David, telling him that God was going to heal me or he would have to come and raise the dead.
In every situation I have gone through God has been faithful. In our tests, sometimes the symptoms may last for days, weeks, or years, but God will always be faithful if we don't change our confession or we don't look for carnal remedies. Sometimes healing requires obedience and/or forgiveness before you see results. Whatever the situation, it's important to listen to and obey God. Sometimes people don't hear God speak because His Word has already said what needs to be said. It's dumb to ask God if it's His will to heal you, when the Bible already outlines his will on this subject. He wants to heal us more that we want to be healed.
If you slip up because of human weakness or fears, repent and keep on trusting. I remember one time that I even spit out and dumped some antibiotics down the toilet that I had just bought for an abscessed tooth. God is always faithful when I obeyed and trusted his ways and not my preferences or fears. I have been healed from other health issues and difficulties, because God's Word says I'm healed. That settles it for me. We need to persevere regardless of how long it takes. I would rather die trusting and obeying God, than to do otherwise. Heaven is not a place I'm trying to avoid. I have heard some people say, "But, I have family that depends on me." Do you think that's news to God?
I also rarely prayed for the physical pain to go away, instead I would pray until I could bear the pain or it went away. Remember, Jesus even refused a pain killer (hyssop) when he hung on the cross. He chose to suffer for our sake and also set an example for all of us. Faith, obedience and the cross can be very painful at times, but there is also a cloud of witnesses in heaven cheering us on. (I don't believe it is a sin to take an aspirin, but we shouldn't depend on them either.)
God is my shield and the rock of my salvation. That's what His word says, so why do we resort to other forms of protection? Again, this is what the maturing of our faith is all about. Therefore, I have learned and chosen to close "back doors" and "escape plans," precaution measures that people make because of fears. I've heard stories of others having major health problems or car accidents with big medical bills, also of fires and flooding. We should always make sure we're living where God wants us, doing what he expects of us, as to avoid such problems. God said he is our shield; and God doesn't lie. I didn't quit buying insurance to to save money but because I trusted God.
God is my shield and the rock of my salvation. That's what His word says, so why do we resort to other forms of protection? Again, this is what the maturing of our faith is all about. Therefore, I have learned and chosen to close "back doors" and "escape plans," precaution measures that people make because of fears. I've heard stories of others having major health problems or car accidents with big medical bills, also of fires and flooding. We should always make sure we're living where God wants us, doing what he expects of us, as to avoid such problems. God said he is our shield; and God doesn't lie. I didn't quit buying insurance to to save money but because I trusted God.
One by one I eliminated all forms of insurance protections. We can't boast about how powerful and all-knowing God is if we don't let Him prove Himself. Therefore, I chose not to live by "what ifs" or what might happen, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Jesus, to live by His faith. That is why I don't have health, house or car collision insurance, but only minimum liability because of a state laws. Nor do I have any other kind of insurance—such as AAA, travel insurance, or extended warranties. Even back when Costco had tire warranty for a dollar I quit purchasing it, which didn't make my wife too happy, but she learned. I wasn't being foolhardy; I just took bigger steps of faith knowing that God is big enough to handle any and every situation.
...to be continued.
