A Journey Through Faith  

Background

Being in bondage from the spirit of depression is a horrible feeling.  Knowing that God can heal you is a gift!  It is possible to be healed from mental torment and God is the Healer.

Scriptures

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. — Psalm 9:9,10 (NKJV)

Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. — Psalm 42:5 (NKJV)

The Lord opens the eyes of  the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord love the righteous. — Psalm 146:8 (NKJV)

In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. – Isaiah 54:14 (NKJV)

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. – Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you. – James 4:7 (NKJV)

Then he said to them, “God your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.  Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV)

And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you.  He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. — Deuteronomy 31:8 (NKJV)

But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.  I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. —  Psalm 3:3 (NKJV)

The righteous cry out, and teh Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. — Psalm 34:17 (NKJV)

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.  – Psalm 34:15

I waited patiently fo rthe Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps, he has put a new song in my mouth — Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. —  Psalm 40:1-3

O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.  The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me — A prayer to the God of my life.  I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me?  Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”  As with a breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”  Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hop in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. — Psalm 42: 6-11 (NKJV)

I cried out to God with my voice — to God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.  In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. – Psalm 77:1, 2 (NKJV)

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. —  Psalm 91:14-16 (NKJV)

“Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.” — Isaiah 54:4 (NKJV)

Arise, shine; For your light has come!  And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. – Isaiah 60:1 (NKJV)

Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. — 2 Corinthians 7:6, 7 (NKJV)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. — 1 Peter 5:6, 7 (NKJV)

Confession

1.  The Lord is my refuge in times of trouble.

2.  I trust the Lord, for He will not forsake the one who seeks Him.

3.  My hope is in my God and I will continue to give Him praise for the help of His countenance.

4.  The Lord opens my eyes and lifts me up when I am bowed down.

5.  In righteousness, I am established, and I am far from oppression and fear; terror shall not come near to me.

6.  God keeps me in perfect peace, when I trust Him and keep my mind on Him instead of circumstances (past, present, or future).

7.  I will not let my heart be troubled, nor will I be afraid, for He has given me peace.

8.  My submission to God empowers me to resist the devil.  He has to flee from me, in Jesus’ Name.

9.  I will not be grieved or depressed, for the joy of the Lord is my strength today and everyday.

 

My youngest daughter was born with severe food allergies to eggs, wheat and peanuts. For two years we had to be very watchful of what we fed her. Whenever she ate something that was not agreeable with her system, she would break out in eczema, develop patchy skin and itch terribly. One time it was so bad that she was actually bleeding on several areas of her skin.

I wasn’t given good news about her condition. Some physicians believed that she would continue to have food allergies for quite some time. I didn’t believe it and wouldn’t believe it. I prayed fervently over her day and night. I walked in faith knowing that she would be healed.

In June 2008 I stepped out in faith and took her to an allergist. She was given skin tests and the results came back saying the SHE NO LONGER HAD ANY FOOD ALLERGIES TO PEANUTS, WHEAT AND EGGS!

God is good and He keeps His promises!

Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:11-15; Leviticus 25: 4-5; 2 Kings 4:5-7

After giving birth to our eldest daughter in 2004, my husband and I began to struggle badly with our finances. I was a graduate student and he was a first year nursing student. At that time we were both working full-time outside of the home. Since we were living near my relatives, we were under the assumption that we would be able to continue the same rigorous schedule with some assistance in babysitting. When that didn’t work out, we looked into day care but realized that we were unable to afford it. After long periods of discussion and prayer, it was brought to our attention that I had to become a full-time mom. A year after working in the home, our finances became extremely tight and I took it upon myself to return to the workforce. As soon as I did things only got worse due to a conflict with our schedules. It was obvious that I had no other choice but to return to my place as a full-time mom.

A few months after leaving the workforce we had to file for bankruptcy. It was a very painful decision, but after spending time with God we realized that as long as we continued to make our priorities God’s priorities he would bless us with a perpetual harvest. It is difficult to see God’s plan when you are going through a storm, but when we continue to give our time, money and talents during those difficult periods, God will honor that with a great harvest. It is during these times that our faith in him is put to the test.

Prayer: Father, I am a sower in your Kingdom. Please bring me a seed.

Putting It All Together: Form a habit of sowing a seed out of faith even when you do not have it.

Published in Maryland Women of Worship, A Long Way From Home, Volume 5 – Winter 2007 Edition by Faith S. Redwine.

 

God is so good and merciful!  He gives all of His children what we need at the appointed time.

I have been going through a very turbulent storm for some time now.  To be very honest, it is by the grace of God that I am still standing today.  I owe it all to the supernatural grace, supernatural faith and supernatural strength that God has equipped me with.   I know that every storm and trial in our lives are never wasted.  God has personally promised to work everything out for the good of those who love the Lord.  I should feel encouraged and not experience life with any fear.  Right?  Well, yes and no…

I am personally standing on several promises from God regarding my marriage, my home, my family and my life.  I have been waiting on God for several years now and I have recently grown anxious because of several unexpected developments.  Lately I have noticed a small knock on my door and an unwanted enemy named ‘fear’ trying to creep in and steal my peace and joy.  I still have faith that God will deliver, but due to the fact that everything around me is contradicting what God has promised, I cannot help but waiver in my faith sometimes.

But, thus says the Lord!  Let me show you how good God is!  My church had a women’s summit in September 2008 and during praise and worship I heard the Lord say “Come” in my spirit.  I made note of it and placed it aside.  Well, I felt troubled earlier today and I knew that I needed a specific word to renew my faith, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  My spirit recalled “Come” and I took out my Concordance and Bible and began to search frantically for “Come” in the scriptures.  The only problem was I found so many pages filled with scriptures highlighting ”Come” that the effort began to feel hopeless. 

I reluctantly laid my head on the sofa with my eyes closed and immediately felt a nudge in my spirit to give up.  I knew that was Satan and I refused to give up.  I needed a word from the Lord and I was determined to find it.  Suddenly the image of Peter walking on water towards Jesus came to mind.  I immediately got up and began to look through the Concordance for that scripture.  And I found it…

Matthew 14:27-32 says, ‘But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid.”  And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  So He said, ”Come.”  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.’

I realized that God is calling me to “Come” to a deeper level with Him.  He wants me to step out in faith and walk on water.  God wants to guide me, but I am growing hesitant because of what the world is saying about my situation.  The world is wind and it is blowing every negative word, result, situation, thought, vision, and dream my way.  I am so busy focusing on the cares and thoughts of the world that I am losing grip of God’s strong hand.

But Satan is a liar!  I need to ignore the wind and focus on God.  The only way He can guide me is if I let go of my fears, inhibitions and the cares of the world.  He is holding out His hand for me to take hold, just like He did for Peter.  I simply have to believe Him completely and continue to walk on water.  I cannot look to the left or to the right.  I can’t even look at the water as I walk across.  I need to focus on Him and continue to hold His hand.  He will not drop me.  He will not let me fall.  He is my Daddy and He cares for me intimately.

The world will say what it wants to say and believe what it wants to believe.  God, on the other hand, has all power in His hand and He can personally work out a miracle in the blink of an eye simply by saying it into existence.  He is that powerful and mighty!

So, after thinking it all through, I have personally decided to go ahead and walk on water.  I have nothing to lose but everything to gain.  I can’t go back because there isn’t anything worth going back to.  But boy!  Just imagine!  If I simply continue to walk on water and live from faith to faith; the things that I can gain from God are limitless!  My mind can’t even comprehend all of it!

Yes, Lord, I will follow you completely and without reservations.  I will walk on water.  Guide me, Lord, as I follow You.  Take my hand and lead the way.  I trust You with all my heart.