-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The trees don’t blossom, the vineyards produce no fruit, the fields are barren,
the barns are empty, the flocks are scattered…-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Isn’t
that a pretty picture?! Yet in such a dismal situation, Habakkuk’s response was far from what would be expected:
“Yet, I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD, I WILL JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION!”-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He chose
to believe – not what his natural senses saw, heard, and felt – but what the promise of God
said.Believing is something you have to choose to do. When the odds are against you, you have to choose
to BELIEVE what God has said is true – to trust Him when everything else has fallen apart.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No, it’s
not easy – but it’s not impossible. Yes, it’s hard to believe when all you see is death
staring you in the face. But the spirit of God is faithful and His Word is far more powerful than anything
that could ever come against you.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Often, you have to choose to still believe when it looks like every dream
and every promise God has given you is shattered beyond the point of ever being restored. In those times,
you have to allow the Word of the Lord to rise up in your spirit as a declaration in the face of that grief -
I choose to still BELIEVE even though all around be falling. God, I choose
to trust Your Word, though everything else may let me down. I will not forget Your mercy and faithfulness
– because I know that in YOU my answer is found. And I know that YOU WILL NOT FAIL TO FULFILL YOUR
WORD if I will only BELIEVE. I CHOOSE to BELIEVE. [Lyrics Copyright © 2007 Fervour Music, Ltd. All Rights
Reserved]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That is what Habakkuk was doing.
When everything looked hopeless, he chose to be believe anyway. He chose to Rejoice in
the Lord because he knew the Word of the Lord would not fail.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When death
stares you in the face, what do you do? When lack stares you in the face, when
trouble in your relationships or sickness in your body or anguish in your mind and emotions stares you in the face –
do you yield to it or do you stand up to it and say “I choose to BELIEVE what God said!” ?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lack is
a manifestation of death. Sickness is a manifestation of death. Relationship trouble
or emotion heartache is a manifestation of death. Anything that stands between you and the
promise of God is death manifested. And it doesn’t belong there.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sure it
can seem that there’s no way out of it no matter how hard you try – but that is a lie. The
promise of God is far more powerful than anything that could ever try to challenge it. Everything else
can fail, but God’s Word won’t, ever. Everything else can fall apart, but God’s Word
will still be standing. If you want to stay standing too, you have to hold fast to that Word and refuse
to be moved off of it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II Corinthians
5.7 - …For we walk by faith and not by sight. We have to BELIEVE.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul said
– “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed – And
since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke’, we
also BELIEVE and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us
up with Jesus...” (II Cor. 4.8-9, 13-16) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can
be hard pressed on every side, but because of this unfailing Word of God in our lives, we’re not crushed.
We might be perplexed or struck down, but never in despair or destroyed - If we carry this same spirit of faith within
us which says – “I BELIEVE this Word, therefore I SPEAK this Word.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He who
raised Jesus up will also raise us up!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul continues
– “THEREFORE WE DO NOT LOSE HEART, even though our outward man is perishing, yet
the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, WHILE WE DO NOT LOOK AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN,
but at the things which are NOT SEEN. For the things which are seen are temporary,
but the things which are NOT SEEN are ETERNAL.”-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The situation
you’re facing may seem like it is going to last forever – but the Word says the things which are seen are temporary.
Our light affliction is but for a moment, and it is working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory WHILE we do not look at the things which are seen.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHILE we do not look… What a word – WHILE. You have
to refuse to consider anything but what the Word has said to you. That is believing.
You can’t consider what is or what is not happening – you have to fix your mind, fix your heart
on one thing – the PROMISE – and refuse to be moved off of it. No matter how high,
how unattainable that promise may seem in light of what you’re going through – you have to look at that promise
and say – “I CHOOSE to believe that!
I choose to believe that my body is healed! I choose to believe that I have abundance and no lack! I
choose to believe that this thing will turn for my deliverance! I choose to believe that what God promised
me WILL come to pass in my life-time! I choose to believe that I WILL SEE the goodness of the Lord in the
land of the living!”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Believing,
in and of itself, is great – but believing is beyond just a persuasion deep within the heart. That
is what the Psalmist said – I believed, and therefore I SPOKE.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What
you believe must also become your declaration. You can choose to believe inside – but something happens when you say “I
BELIEVE.”-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Ephesians
1.19, Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart would be flooded with light so that we would know “what is the exceeding
greatness of His (God’s) power toward us who BELIEVE, according to the working of His
mighty power…”-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God’s
power is exceedingly great to those who BELIEVE. It is our faith, our believing
that creates the atmosphere for the manifestation of the power of God in our life. Faith opens the door
to the exceeding greatness of His power.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As believers, we must BELIEVE. Hebrews
10.38 says that the just shall LIVE by Faith. Faith must become our way of life and stay our
way of life. It must be our life-style. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faith,
believing, is not just something we should exercise when we are in dire straights or when we think we “need it”.
Nor should we wait for the “good times” to begin walking by faith.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hebrews 10.38 says that the just are to live by faith
– every day, every moment of our life – Not live by our wits, our own reasoning or intelligence,
nor what other people say, or the news, or the dictates of our circumstances, or anything else. No, we’re
to live BY FAITH – faith in one thing: the unchanging Word who is the unchanging Almighty
God.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Apostle
Paul said – “Even in all the things I have suffered and endured, I am still not ashamed and have no regrets, because
I know in whom I have BELIEVED and I am positively persuaded that He is able to keep what I have
committed to Him until the day of His return.” (II Timothy 1.12)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We should
never, under any circumstance, allow our faith to cool off or stagnate. Faith is the life-source of the
Believer. If a Believer ever stops living by faith, it would be basically the same thing as pulling
the plug on his life. We were created to live by faith. We were created to
BELIEVE.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul said
that he had absolutely no regrets because he knew in whom he believed. He was so positively persuaded
that God would keep and guard everything he had committed to Him until the day of His return. He knew and
was intimately acquainted with the One he had staked all his trust on – and was persuaded that the One he believed would
positively never fail him.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you
and I that sure of the One we say we believe in? Are we so persuaded by His word to us that we can live
our life with no regrets, knowing that our Lord will keep and guard everything we’ve committed into His hands?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Habakkuk was persuaded because he chose to believe and he chose to rejoice in the
Lord despite his immediate circumstances. …YET, I will rejoice in the Lord.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is
just something about that word “YET”. You look at that pain or look at that lack and say –
“Yeah, I know you’re there, but you don’t count. There’s something so much bigger,
so much higher than you are – it’s the promise of God to me, and I CHOOSE to believe it!”-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe you’re
not that persuaded by God’s word to you. Maybe you feel like your faith is a flop and everything
is falling apart – but you are only four words away from a life of total victory.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the
same way that earth is tuned for Life, you and I are tuned for BELIEVING. We are BELIEVERS.
All we have to do is live on that believing side of life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open your
mouth and start declaring your victory –-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I CHOOSE to
B E L I E V E”---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1 August 2008
Sharah LaGail Wyatt / First Love Ministries
International
All Rights Reserved.
FIRST LOVE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL is a Non-Profit corporation
