Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ~Hebrews 11:1
Real faith speaks up! It doesn’t hide in the corner hoping someone doesn’t notice it. It has a mission, and that mission is a burning mission full of confidence, vision and desire. It just can’t help telling everyone that will listen what God has promised in His word because that is the foundation of faith. Through God’s word, we come to believe and trust that He will do what He said to the point that we see it with our minds eye before it ever even happens. Sometimes years before, even decades before! During all that time we are still holding on to that word and waiting to see the day of deliverance that we oh so long for, for ourselves and for all our loved ones. What does the “day of deliverance” look like to you? Maybe it’s the day someone you love puts their trust in Christ. Maybe it's someone you know who has struggled with addiction who lays down those habits that have held them in bondage for so long. Maybe it’s you or someone that you care for who has suffered with sickness or disease for so long that finally receives their healing and walks free from the pain. Have you ever given your mind’s eye permission to envision those great days of deliverance? That’s vision! And it is the vision that God was talking about when He said in Proverbs 29:18 “Without a vision the people lose restraint; but happy is the one who follows instruction.” (NABRE) Faithless people don’t have vision. Faith filled people are the ones who have vision and faith filled people are the ones following God's instructions. His instructions are imperative to our lives because they feed our hope which keeps our soul anchored in the storms of life and also during the waiting times where our patience and endurance are being built.
Those with no vision tend to cast off restraint. They have a “what do I have to lose” mentality. They don’t take the time to find out what God thinks about what they are doing or what He has planned for their life. That great destiny that He is ready to lead them into and make provision for. We have to make time to get to know God and then to cling to His promises so we can come up to His way of living as we see His word manifested in our lives. People who have no faith need to see faith filled people living and being all God has created them to be. They need to see someone with a burning passion to see and have all God has promised them. That is salvation and all salvation starts with a confession of faith. God wants to see His chosen children walking in complete salvation. Not just escaping the fires of hell, but living the abundant life Jesus came to give us. I have camped in Isaiah 54 for years. Those promises are steeped in my heart, and I can see myself with my mind’s eye “spreading out to the right and to the left”, I can see my children “disposing nations and settling in their desolate cities”. I can see these things so clearly that I look for ways every day to “enlarge the place of my tent and stretch my tent curtains wide”. I want to “live” the word so I look for ways I can be a blessing because God says that is why He has blessed me. Praying for others, helping people in need, whatever God sends my way I am listening for the Holy Spirit to tell me “You’re up. Go do it. All of Heaven is behind you!" When my kids call and tell me their success stories, I tell them “That’s what you have been created for! You are a chosen child of God, marked for success and victory in every area of your life!” Don’t let the enemy steal your vision for yourself or your family. Get that promise down on the inside of you to the point that you see it before it ever comes to pass. Then wait for it patiently. We should have God’s word steeped so strongly in our hearts that we know He is faithful to His promises whether we ever witness the promise in this life or not. That is the kind of faith all of Heaven takes notice of!
Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. ~Isaiah 54:2-3
What does a great "day of deliverance" look like to you?
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