Love Poured +Faith = Hope

Matthew 21:21
Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.

“Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.” Amos 5:14-15 NLT

Had another awesome Saturday night at church.  It seems when many choose to go and party on the weekends, I end up at the Fathers house and find much going on.  Tonight was kinda spectacular.  Let me set the scene for a typical Saturday at church.  We come in and just listen to the music which is playing for about an hour, during this time I journal, read the Bible or just sit and soak.  Then there is a teaching time followed by prayer if anyone needs it.  Sometimes things do not go as “we” plan but rather the Holy Spirit changes the line-up.  Tonight I felt compelled to draw a bit and hence came the drawing above.  This also sparked a few things in my thinking and I came away well refreshed and seeking God even more.

My life, as with any Christian should be, is built upon faith.  During the recent revival I learned many things about faith.  I discovered I really did not have much until about three years ago when God pulled me out of the mess I was in and began to set my life apart from the destruction it had previously known.  My finances were looking better, I was writing more than ever, I was healing and I was beginning to finally believe God for things in my life.  Through this faith I acquired a good running van, kept my job, learned how to budget my money and recently getting my teeth fixed.  Faith is that thing which we cannot see and that is where the difficulty lies.

Take getting this house I want for instance.  People are telling me it is just not possible.  My credit rating says it will difficult to get an interest rate I can afford.  My flesh is telling me I am going for the impossible, yet all the while my faith is letting me pursue this dream.  If you read my blog Deer in the Front Yard, then you already understand just how perfect this house is and how much of a God thing it is for both parties involved.  I am acting on faith as I begin to search out my options for purchasing this home.  I have even begun a work in my current trailer to set things in motion.

As I sat in church tonight, journaling to God, I begin to see a different side of faith like I had not know before.  As the music was playing I began to see this pitcher as it was being filled with water and it was overflowing.  Now I am a writer and drawing is not my expertise, however I began to draw out what I was seeing.  I now have my vision for 2012 which is centered around hope and God just took it a few steps farther for me.  As indicated in the picture, water is flowing from above and this represents the Father’s love for us.  As it pours into the pitcher, which represents us, it mixes with our faith.  It is then when we begin to pour into the lives of others that it turns into Hope.

Another angle too is that when God is pouring love into our lives and we are filled with faith then the hope just begins to pour out as in a continuous stream from above. Just like Peter we must activate our faith if we want things to happen.  Once we are walking by faith on the water before us we must then keep our eyes on Jesus so as not see the circumstances below our feet for surely we will falter. So my focus in 2012 is to be filled up with Jesus so that my faith will remain activated.  By allowing this to happen, faith can arise and be seen causing others to have hope for their lives as well.

Nothing is too big for God and even when others in our lives say we cannot attain our goals, we know when we are operating out of faith, nothing is impossible.  We need to daily renew our minds so that our focus will remain on Jesus and our faith will grow stronger.  I have seen God do so many things already in my life, I find it hard not to have faith.  As I have grown stronger, knowing God is in control, I am able to press forward into other venues of life knowing that if God desires it for my life than it shall be.  As I am finishing the very last chapter of my book, I look forward to taking it to an editor and beginning the process of getting it published with the faith that God is in control.