“I would have despaired (fainted, lost all hope) had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord”. Psalms‬ ‭27:13‭-‬14‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Like so many other scriptures, I’ve read or heard these two verses countless times, but today’s reading of them was different: the Holy Spirit led me on a search for different versions and cross-references.

I especially like this version of it, “Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!” Psalms‬ ‭27:14‬ ‭TPT‬‬

My study eventually became like the proverbial rabbit hole. One verse or reference led to another, then another, then another, and then I had to stop myself. When I stopped and quieted myself and asked the Holy Spirit what he wanted me to glean from my ‘trek through scripture land’, He simply said ‘Believe’. That’s it! My almost 20-minute journey which included lots of notes, led to that one, single word, that, when spoken by the Holy Spirit turned out to be very impactful.

I’m sharing just a snippet of my learnings with the hopes that it might impact at least one person, the way it impacted me.

As human beings, all that we do and accomplish in life is tied to that simple 7-letter word, BELIEVE. We sit on chairs because we believe in their ability to hold us up, we eat certain foods because we believe that they would benefit our bodies. We fly in planes like I’m doing as I’m writing this because we believe that they will take us safely from one destination to another. Even the way that we treat ourselves and others is a direct result of one or more of our beliefs. Everything we do is a result of a conscious or subconscious belief.

I hope this is beginning to set some sparks off in your brain.

As Christians, we come to faith by believing, and what many of us fail to recognize, or sometimes forget, is that we live this entire journey of following Christ, by believing. We are even called ‘Believers’, right?

So what do you believe about yourself as a Child of God? What do you believe about your Heavenly Father? Are your beliefs limiting or enabling? Are they firm or do they fluctuate with your emotions? Are they in line with, or counter to the Word of God?

I recall as a child I said the “sinners prayer” constantly because I believed that every wrong I did ended my salvation and thus necessitated a new acceptance of Christ as my Lord and Savior. I later understood that this belief was erroneous, as every sin I would ever commit in my entire lifetime was already forgiven, once I ‘got saved’. The blood of Jesus was a present continuous reality.

If you’re reading this and you struggle with accepting this truth, pause and ask the Holy Spirit to open your understanding.

Galatians 2:20 is one of my all-time favorite scriptures. It summarizes salvation perfectly.

I know this problem doesn’t apply to everyone, but the truth is many of us live like it’s our reality. We ‘get’ the truth in our heads, but it doesn’t fully transition to heart knowledge, so we live a life of constantly trying to measure up when we have already measured up because of God’s amazing grace.

Are you striving to ‘feel’ deserving of God’s free gift of salvation? Do you sometimes feel that God passed you over and blessed one of his ‘better’, more dedicated children? Have you begun to lose hope of being healed, believing that perhaps God doesn’t want to heal you? Do you make excuses for why God’s promises don’t seem to apply to you? Do you admire, and sometimes envy how God uses other believers, noting to yourself that they must fast, pray, and read the Bible more consistently than you do?

Newsflash! Those are ALL lies of the devil. Yes, the devil speaks lies to our minds and we have to “be alert to and aware of his strategies…” 2 Corinthians 2:11

Today, I want to challenge you to believe. Believe God’s word as the truth. Believe EVERYTHING it says about you, and not just those selective verses that you can believe as your reality.

I pray that our Abba Father is using this post to encourage you. Hear His voice saying to you, ‘Believe the truth and reject the lies of your enemy the devil. Don’t despair/ faint/ lose all hope, BELIEVE that you WILL see God’s goodness/abundant blessings/promises fulfilled, in this present life.’

Let God’s word be a greater reality than what you perceive with your eyes. I know this may seem crazy, so let me remind you that as a child of God, your reality is the limitlessness of the Kingdom of Heaven and not the limited existence of the earthly realm.

Yes, you are seated in the heavenly realms with Christ, and able to accomplish greater things than He did while on earth. I didn’t make that up, that’s the word of God. Check out Ephesians 2:6 and John 14:12.

Abba Father I pray Romans 15:13 over your children reading this “May (you,) the God of hope fill them with all joy and peace as they trust in (you), so that they may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” May this be their reality in this season and always. May they each grow in hope and become so familiar with your word that the lies of the enemy stand out as clear counterfeits. May they shut down each lie and replace it with Your truth. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Here are a few scriptures to remind you of who God says you are:

1. Romans 8:1- “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
2. 2 Corinthians 5:17- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
3. Ephesians 1:4- “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
4. Colossians 3:12- “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
5. 1 Peter 2:9- “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
6. Philippians 4:13- “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
7. John 15:15- “I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you.”
8. Galatians 2:20- “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
9. 1 John 3:1- “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
10. Romans 8: 31- 39 (excerpts)- “If God is for us, who can be against us?…Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us…we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you’ve never asked Christ to be Lord of your life, please pray this prayer. ‘Lord Jesus, I am sorry for my sin please forgive me, cleanse me, and make me your child. I commit my life to you today and ask you to be my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.’

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