@Gospelfit #LentenChallenge Day 3 ~ Put Your Faith On It

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and the One who saves me.  So why should I fear anyone? The Lord protects my life.

Fear. If we all would just take a second to think about and deal honestly with the fear that has plagued us in our lives, we would hopefully be willing to confess that fear only has the POWER that we give it. Can We Talk?!

When we allow it, fear has the power to paralyze us and keep us from our appointed destiny in Christ Jesus. We all have seen fear paralyze people so much that they do not move. Literally and figuratively. These are the people that are always waiting for the right time, a burning bush, an angel in a vision, or a prophetic word before they can step out on faith. They check, double check, and verify as they wait on countless, nameless people and signs to confirm a Word from the Lord.

Conversely, we have probably seen fear make people move through life so quickly that they have not stopped to check with God to be sure that their will lines up with the plans He set before us. Busy, busy, busy, but not productive or anointed. Driven but by what? Afraid if they slow down, God will ask them a simple question. “Who told you to do all of that?”

Life changes and life challenges have a way of invoking fear. The next 43 days may seem insurmountable. You may be thinking what have I gotten myself into? Put your faith into action. Put your faith on your fear. Faith has a way of arresting fear. Stopping fear in its tracks. We are not alone on this journey. The Father has equipped us to handle every challenge, struggle, and temptation ahead. He will be here with us every step of the way. Since God is for us, what demon has the strength to oppose Him? None. Not one.

Believing is seeing,

Aqua

Fasting and Prayer

The Word of God tells us that it was for the sake of freedom that Christ set us free. That’s powerful Good News! God doesn’t want us to bound by anyone or anything. He sent Jesus to break the chains of sin and bondage. Can We Talk?!

Fasting is a powerful tool in the Christians arsenal for breaking strongholds and breaking yolks. Fasting is an opportunity to walk closer to Lord, an opportunity for renewal and refreshing. The power of any fast is in the setting apart, the disciplining, and the consecrating ourselves to focus on Him (Gregory, 2010).

Many Christians are discovering the benefits of fasting and prayer. Remember fasting without prayer is just a diet. As believers learn more about the power of fasting and prayer, questions sometimes arise.  Here is question sent to me a few weeks ago.

Dear Aqua

I have a question for you regarding fasting. I have some areas of concern that I need to pray and fast over. I have decided to give up sweets and reality TV shows. Those two areas are my weaknesses. It is surely a sacrifice to give them up. The shows occupy so much of my time. Anyway, that’s why I thought it would be a great sacrifice along with my other weakness, sweets. My question is: Is it ok to DVR the shows and watch them after the 21 days?

Dear Fasting for Freedom

That’s great! Of course you could….BUT. You knew there would be a but, right. If you want to change that behavior (watching and wasting time on reality TV) then you would not want to record them and go back to them after the fast. You would want to replace the time spent watching reality with other activities. Add leaving reality TV in the dust to your prayers during the fast. Pray that when the fast is over you have no desire for it. The Word tells us to hold on to what we have attained. If you attain your freedom from the hold of reality TV during the fast, why go back? When we fast with Hope I always look for some habit, behavior, attitude I can get rid of forever. Let me know when you start fasting. I hope this helps. Also, I would like to invite you to fast during Lent. A 40 day Daniel fast with our new ministry TriSistah412. Pray about it. More details coming.                                  

I’ll be praying for you. Love you.

You can send questions to dearaqua4histemple@gmail.com

From Victory To Victory

I was recounting my victory of a recent test to my spiritual mentor. Yes, after 10 months I can say that the test is over and the victory belongs to Jesus Christ. Throughout the whole 10 months from the day after the test began, I knew that I would be victorious. First I recognized it as a test. That’s key! We’ll talk about that in a future post. I sought wise counsel, immersed myself in the Word, listened for the voice of God, and began the process of winning. I knew I still had to go through the process of the test, but I never wavered that when this thing was over our God would be glorified!

I told my mentor that I find many people first don’t want to go through anything and second people don’t understand that it takes hard work and faith to get through tests and trials. It’s a process. She said, “yes it takes work, obedience, and humility, but what most people really don’t understand is that we are fighting FROM a place of victory”. Can We Talk?!

We are already victorious in every trial, every test, every battle, every situation, and every circumstance that we ever face. We are going from victory to victory! If you have an unfavorable doctor’s report in your hand right now…You are already victorious! Are you unemployed or underemployed, you are already victorious! Is your marriage in disarray? Take heart friends the victory is already yours in Christ Jesus. You have the victory before the tests begins. You have won the war, before for first bullet flies. You just have to walk and talk like you believe God. Let Him be glorified IN your situations and circumstances.

How can we be over comers if we never over came anything? How can we be more than conquerors, if yes, you’ve heard it said before, we never conquered anything? God uses tests and trials to grow us and mature us, so we ALL have to go through something. The distinguishing characteristic of faithful believers is HOW we go through.

If we know that we are fighting from a place of victory we can walk in power. We can see our obstacles as stepping stones. We can see our challenges and enemies as tools God uses to bless, teach, mature, and strengthen us. So go ahead and ride on the lofty wings of criticism, sail on the strong seas of doubt and fear. When we are fighting from a place of victory we can walk boldly into the fiery darts of the enemy and not get burned! Know that the victory is already won! Praise Him for the victory!

We can’t wait for God to sprinkle us with our healing or wait for some magical mountain top sermon experience to be the catalyst for our change and growth when we are being tested. It takes work with and through God. It takes faith to endure tests and trials. We have to roll up our sleeves, submit to God, and walk boldly through our process with Him. When we come out on the other side of what we’ve gone through healthier and whole, looking more like Jesus, God alone gets the glory!

Jesus was our greatest example of fighting from victory to victory. He was born in victory and today He rules and reigns over death, grave, hell, and sin. He faced many difficult tests. His own people did not receive Him. His disciples betrayed and abandoned Him. He was beaten, humiliated, and finally suffered death on a cross, all from a place of victory!

If you are struggling through a test or trial now and your faith is getting weak, start speaking victory in and over your situation. Put in the work it takes to move through your process without delay. Forgive and be reconciled. Humble yourself. Show love and compassion. Release pride, arrogance, and control. Ask yourself what is God trying to teach me, then submit and surrender to the teaching. Whatever God is asking you to do, you MUST do or it simply delays your process.

As you go through remember that it is God who will bring you out. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. When you come out, you will see how God was there all the time, leading, instructing, guiding, and yes cheering you and you will see how you STARTED from a place of victory. When we start in victory, how can we ever lose? How can we?