It Is Not What You See
Over the past weeks, I have heard several people say something to the effect of, “I hope this next year is better than this past one has been.” With statements like this and situations we see in ministries near us, it is obvious that there is a spiritual attack to steal hope and vision from God’s people. Do not allow this to happen to you! Be on guard of the seemingly small events and circumstances that begin to build up, causing you for feel hopeless and futile.
Alisa had some powerful insights that I want to share with you.
—From Alisa
When difficult situations in your life have gone on unchanged for an extended period of time and you see no discernable way out of your trying circumstances, it is easy to be overcome by a sense of hopelessness. During these times, it is vital to hold fast to what you confess in faith, to hold fast to the promises of God “without wavering” (Heb. 10:23) especially when weariness and hopelessness try to gain a foothold. God has been impressing on me to be belligerent in speaking/enforcing the Word of God over our lives. Realize that in most all of the examples in Scripture of God’s deliverance, those people were in situations with no visible way of victory–so you must enforce on your thoughts that your faith is not based, and can never be based, on what you see!
For example, in Rom. 4 it says, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…Without weakening in his faith, he faced the facts [i.e. He could not “see” a possibility of victory but it did not weaken his faith.]…Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise.” When Daniel was falling into the den of lions, the same lions that later tore apart his enemies before their bodies hit the floor, there was no visible sign of divine intervention! If Daniel’s faith was in what he saw instead of solely in the Word, he would have felt there was no hope. It was the same with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, yet they said, “Our God will deliver us…” When the Israelites were cornered with their backs to the Red Sea and the armed forces of their enemies who hated them surrounding on all sides–no escape–they cried out to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die?” Yet Moses knew that hope was not in what he could see.
Let me be more direct. You may feel like there is no hope because things have not changed and there is no visible sign of deliverance. Every person in the above situations which received miraculous, divine intervention, were in situations like yours!!! They were each in situations that in the natural only showed signs of certain defeat. It was in those exact type of circumstances that the intervention came—NOT in circumstances where they could see any possible way out, any possible way to make things work. So, your visibly “hopeless” situation is NOT the type that proves you are without hope. Your situation is exactly the kind that is shown in Scripture to have divine intervention. In fact, God refers to this concept in Rom. 8:24 where He says, “Hope that is seen is not hope at all.” Hold fast without wavering.
Enforce in your thought life that your faith is not based on what you see.
Increasing in Christ,
Pastor Gary & Alisa
