Elijah | considering the word

Farkle. Have you ever played? It’s a pretty low-key dice game, but you can choose to take risks or not. My son decided to take a risk that didn’t pay off. He lost a lot of points and asked if we could change the rules “just this once, and then everyone could have the same thing done for themselves, as well.” I said no.

I said, “You took a risk, and that was great, but it didn’t work out. You lose your points.” Then he said, “Then, I’ll quit.” Nope! That was also not an option. We finished the game, and he came in 2nd. Not too shabby, when quitting would have ensured his loss.

There are moments like that for all of us, where it can be so easy for us to want to quit. Quit life, quit trying, quit parenting, quit working, quit giving of ourselves, quit caring, quit any number of things.

I remember when Elijah felt this way, He literally sat down under a tree in the desert and said, “I’ve had enough. Just let me die.” And then he fell asleep. If I’m being honest, I have felt that way, but I am so encouraged to know that someone like Elijah felt that way, too.

Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 9 that athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. We don’t run without a goal. He says in vs. 27, “I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won’t lose out after telling the good news to others.” Even he understands that sometimes we feel that weight on us, but we have to discipline ourselves like an athlete, and keep the goal in mind.

We do it for a crown that will last forever! There is no 2nd place with God. There is only life everlasting, and we don’t want to fall down and lose our place now. We can keep our eyes on Him, our faith in Him, and keep on going.

So run to win!

jamie

Pr. 13:20: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

So, yesterday I admitted that God corrected me for doubting. Am I alone in that? I have asked God to increase my faith. Maybe you guys are already full of faith.

See, it’s not that I doubt that God is able. My goodness, if He can split the Red Sea, He can heal me. If He can send so much fire from heaven that it burns up Elijah’s offering, including the wood, the rock altar, the ground around the altar, and the water in the ditch, He can do anything! I believe He is the God of the Bible.

I believe He is the God that led David’s stone into Goliath’s forehead. I believe He is the God who kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from even smelling of smoke when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. I believe He is the same God who kept Paul from even getting sick when he was bit by a poisonous viper.

I believe He is the same God today that He was even then!

The trouble I have had in the past is when it comes to His will. Does He desire for me to be healed? Paul prayed 3 times to be delivered from the thorn in his flesh and the Lord told him no. The Lord told Him that His grace was sufficient and that His strength was made perfect in weakness.

What I have found since 2012, when I first became afflicted, is that God’s grace is indeed sufficient. And although I fought it so many times at first, His strength is made most perfect in my weakness. I can honestly say that I could not have been brought to the place I am with God had I not gone through what I have. I can truly say, “what the enemy meant for evil, God has used for good.”

Does that mean that I can’t ask for healing and have the faith that it’s still possible? No. And in my Bible study of faith what better place to start than Heb. 11? I want to walk with wise men, like this proverb says. I want to walk with the hall-of-famers of faith! I’m going to start there and keep walking. I’m going to keep believing and keep increasing in my faith.

Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for…

jamie