She prayed. She believed. She spoke in agreement with the promise. And she is still waiting and praying.
He found the scriptures. He stood on them. He was genuinely surprised when everything fell apart anyways.
The little boy whispered, “God, are you still there? Are you listening?”
Many of my posts have to do with the subject of HOPE and FAITH.
HOPE; the confident trust and expectation in the promise of God. FAITH; the best buddy of HOPE that is grounded and established on the immutable Word of God. There is a natural tension between the two … a mystery to be walked out by those who would claim to have believing faith for something they don’t yet have or possess or see in the natural.
“You can’t have FAITH without HOPE;
and hope without faith is just a wish.” ~unknown
“Hope is a divine inner image. It’s a dream birthed by The WORD of God
in the soul of man. It’s the blueprint of our faith.” ~Kenneth Copeland
For the next few weeks or so, I am going to try to tackle the subject of something I wrestle with on a regular basis. Like the imaginary people above, I’ve prayed for specific needs. I’ve researched the scriptures for the promise related to those needs and laid claim to them. I’ve gotten my mouth working in agreement with the Word. I’ve locked the door to fear. I’ve stood my ground before the enemy of doubt and ….
(sigh!)
I call this period, this process, this slow-as-molasses season …… the wait of Faith.
If I’m being completely honest, for me it’s one thing when I have a practical need. Maybe I need finances for car repairs, or I need a new wardrobe because I lost 33 lbs on Weight Watchers. (a little shout out to my WW group! Whazzup my friends!!) I have His promise, I know it’s His will (because it’s in His Word), and so basically, I just need to keep my eyes looking upward and trust He will bring it to pass in His timing.
But (again, being completely honest), it is a much harder deal when you are praying as an intercessor. Like when you’re praying for healing for your child, grandchild, or spouse. Or praying for someone to be delivered from drugs, alcohol, or pornography. You see the lives impacted. You see the pain, doubt, and fear. And you can’t do anything to fix it but pray and believe, and pray some more! This is where the Wait of Faith takes on a whole new meaning, for not only are you affected by the pain and doubt and wreckage you see happening in the life of the one you are interceding for, but your own pain and doubts need to be managed.
“She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’” “Everything is all right,” she said.”
2 Kings 4:24-26
It’s not that the Shunammite woman (whose child had just died btw) wasn’t experiencing a torrent of emotions. She was! BUT … she held them in check (didn’t give them full reign), and purposefully determined in her will and spirit to trust to the spiritual authority of the Prophet as higher (of ranking priority) than her own emotions. Let me say that again but in a slightly different way.
She made a conscious determination and willful choice to put her trust in the authority of the Prophet (the OT representation of Jesus Christ) as greater than the torrent of her own emotions and thoughts and fears.
And that is ultimately what saved her sons life!!!
Let us also purposefully determine during our own Wait of Faith, to give our confidence and trust (our HOPE) to the promises, power and authority of matchless Name of Jesus which is higher than whatever is facing us today. If He said it, He will do it!!
Putting Hope To Work 
Got a thought or comment? I’d love to hear it!