Today we continue our series “God is faithful!” Yesterday I shared a message about dealing with the pressures of this present world. You are able to do so when you know you are in this world, but not of it. You are born from above. Today’s message will flow in the same vein, and it will focus on God’s faithfulness towards us.
So what does this mean for you today? I will provide you a few thoughts, but I will do something different first. Before I get into the points, here are a few scriptures to meditate on during challenging times. These scriptures remind you of God’s faithfulness.
(Psalm 34:19 KJV)
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
(Psalm 119:71 NLT)
My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
(Psalm 37:39 TPT)
But the Lord will be the Savior of all who love him. Even in their time of trouble, God will live in them as strength.
(Romans 8:18 ERV)
We have sufferings now, but these are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us.
(Col 1:27 TPT)
Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it!
(Psalm 91:13 TPT)
You’ll even walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness, trampling every one of them beneath your feet!
(John 16:33 TPT)
??And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!”
Please take time to meditate on these scriptures. Get them down in your heart. If you believe what God is saying to you through them:
— You will not be afraid when trouble comes your way
— You will keep your eyes fixed and focused on God in the midst of challenging times
— You will build up your faith in God’s faithfulness towards you
— You will enter into God’s rest and not be negatively impacted by the pressures of this present world
1. When you are truly in-faith, you are in a position to release pressure and stress.
— Once you know you have heard from God and are doing what He told you to do, you should not take on any pressure. At that point, since your confidence is in God and not you, you can shift all the pressure over to God. After all, you are only doing what He told you to do. If it’s His will, it’s also His bill!
— It’s not God’s will for you to live your life with the pressure to perform. If you want to take on any pressure, it should be the pressure to BELIEVE. As long as you BELIEVE God and you are doing ONLY what He leads you to do, all the pressure will be on Him.
— Anxiety and stress are common in the lives of people who rely on their humanity. However, if you believe God is ON you, IN you, WITH you, FOR you, and LEADING you, what do you have to stress over? At that point, if you are stressing, it is because you don’t believe God!
— Quick testimony. People who have not seen me in years and see me now often tell me that it does not look like I am aging. This is a testimony of God’s rest. Since I don’t take on any unnecessary pressure to perform, I am not constantly battling stress, I sleep well at night, my sleep is sweet (Prov 3:24), and I am not plagued by negative stress.
— If you believe God can renew your youth like the eagles (Psalm 103:5), but you live your life stressed-out, constantly living in fear, doubt, unbelief, worry, guilt, and shame, you are fighting against the age-renewal process. You are doing things that rob you of your peace and add wear-and-tear to your life.
— When you have faith in God’s faithfulness towards you, you are able to live in a stress-free environment.
2. The highest form of faith is rest.
I have made this point many times, but it is worth repeating. If you truly believe what God has said to you about any given situation, you will enter into God’s rest concerning it.
— As a Born-Again believer, you are commanded to work hard on NOT working (see Hebrews 4).
— When you are truly in faith, knowing that you are ONLY doing what God told you to do, you are able to enter into divine REST. At that point, you rest from your own works (Heb 4:10).
— The writer of Hebrews told us to labor to enter into God’s rest (Heb 4:11). He was teaching us that we should work hard on NOT working. We should put pressure on ourselves to NOT take on any pressure to perform. This is not easy because this world is programmed to put the emphasis on human ability and effort. But you must learn to NOT do something just because you can. You should only do what you are LED by the Holy Spirit to do.
— When you train yourself to live life from the inside out, doing only what God leads you to do, you get to the point where you don’t accept any pressure to make things happen. You don’t have pressure because you know you are not pursuing your own desires. You are doing God’s will, you do it for God’s glory, and you are doing it by God’s grace. This is how God wants us to live. When we live this way, we can work and rest at the same time!
That’s enough for today. God is faithful!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for leading me to LEVEL UP in this season. I LEVEL UP my ability to REST! I walk and live by faith. I only do what You lead me to do. Therefore, I don’t take on any pressure to perform. Fear, doubt, unbelief, worry, stress, and anxiety have no power over me. I believe in You, Father, and in Your faithfulness towards me. I live in a stress-free environment! I do what I do by Your grace and for Your glory. I am not doing anything on my own. So I sleep well, I have peace in my heart, my youth is renewed daily, and I get to live long and strong! I have faith in Your faithfulness towards me! This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
