Seed of Promise (Day 3 from Cleansing Thoughts

  


   Remember when Jesus was being tempted by the devil after His baptism in the Jordan River? The Spirit had led Him to the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days, and the Word saysHe was hungry. Satan came toHim dating, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” Luke 4:3,NKJV). Oh precious child of God, did you see how the Satan tried to plant his seed of doubt into Jesus’s mind, “If You are the Son of God,”  how many times in the past has he done the same thing with you.  If you are a child of God, why weren’t you healed? If you are a child of God, why do you still struggle? If you are a child of God. Satans words were no more than seed of doubt. Should anyone put the word IF in-font of God or you in this manner beware, don’t accept them! 

   When he comes to plant his seeds in your mind, remember to do as Jesus did and boldly say, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God’” (Luke 4:4, NKJV). Remembered, starve your doubts and feed your spirit on the Word of God. How, by prayer and fasting.

   Did you know that you can fast other things and not just food? It’s true fasting most generally means food, starve the body feed the spirit. But, for me personally, my stomach is not the problem, my mind is. There was a time in my early walk with the Lord I felt led to fast television and to spend that time studying His Word, so I started doing word studies. I grew strong in the Lord during those months as I planted His word in my heart. One day while I was studying I felt the Lord was leading mr to this passage: “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I send it.” (Isaiah 55:19-11, NKJV) I began to make a list of God’s promises so I could write a scripture prayer for them, whatever the circumstances were in my life, or those I was praying for, I would have a scripture to proclaim, “ It is written.” It was

   My times of prayer and fasting have become a great source of strength for me, as well as increasing my faith. It was during such a time that the seed I am speaking of was planted in my heart. My pastor had called a three day fast for our church and families. When I was in my thirties I was diagnosed with Manic-Depressive Disorder with severe mood swings. Over the the years the Lord has showed me how to overcome the disorder without taking medication. But I was believing for a complete healing. 

   Years have come and gone as I still believed that one day I would be freed of the mental illness and the stigma it carries. The church I was attending had asked those in the congregation to write out their testimony and turn it in. This is what I wrote:

 At the age of three, I would come to know Him as Father when just before my birthday my father took his own life, he entrusted me to His care. It wasn’t until 1980 that I stoped running and cane to know Him as Savior at a small Brethren church in Peru, Indiana. From that moment on, He became Counselor and friend as He took the broken pieces of my past and turned them into a vessel fit for the Master’s use. Over the years, I’ve come to know Him as . . . DELIVER, when He set me free from a life of abuse and made everything new in my life. RESTORER, as He saw me through a marriage broken by infidelity and abandonment as I carried my first child, a son. REDEEMER, as He took the pain of bitterness and resentment at the loss on my little girl, and filled my empty arms with His peace. HEALER, as His touch my mind freeing me from the grip of a manic depressive disorder, paranoia and social anxiety. TEACHER, as He taught me that I’m not stupid or lazy , but one of many learning to overcome dyslexia. And now I know Him as Lord over all that I am becoming in Him for: AS A CHILD, I was a victim. AS AN ADULT, I was a survivor, but AS A CHILD OF GOD, I am an over comer by the bloom of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. 

   As I read over what I had written I began to cry for I realized, like Paul, His grace was sufficient for me, and His strength was made perfect in my weakness. I closed my eyes and I could see a mustard tree of faith.

   “Heavenly Father, I bring before Your precious children  before You asking that this day You would show them the wonder of Your word. Place within them the gift of faith and a hunger for your word ands desire to fast and pray, and to seek Your face in all they do. Open their eyes and ears to see and to hear with understanding. It is in Jesus’s name we pray.



   


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