Happy Wellness Wednesday, Garden Fam! 🌸
Oftentimes, when I am reading the Bible or even listening to sermons, I am not only listening for guidance from the Holy Spirit concerning what I am reading and hearing, but also asking Him, “What do you want for me to take away from this overall today?” My takeaway from something my mentor taught this week is that ‘sometimes God does it for you and sometimes, He gives you dunamis. In other words, sometimes, He works a miracle on your behalf, and at other times, He deposits a measure of His power within you and guides you to go forth and accomplish whatever needs to be done. Both of these are miraculous and supernatural in nature, and should be appreciated as such.
Sometimes, if we’re used to God operating in one way in our lives, it can be hard to embrace and flow with Him in another direction. If we’re not careful, we may be waiting for Him to move one way and totally missing the fact that that’s not how He’s doing it in this season or situation. That is why I wanted to share this revelation with you today. Concerning the things God has promised you and the assignments He has given you, ask Him what your role and responsibility(s) are in bringing it to pass. Ask Him to show you, in His timing of course, whether He will accomplish that thing supernaturally by His hand alone, or supernaturally by His grace operating through you. Overall, ask Him to order your footsteps, so that even when it is not in His will to reveal all of the details to you, you can rest assured that you are in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing(s).
God knows how He created each of us, who He has molded us to be, and what He has deposited in each of us. He takes that into account, along with the details of His overall plan, when determining which way He will bring about your miracle or promise. Whichever way He chooses to do “the thing” remember to give thanks every step of the way. And if you’re in a situation where He has given you dunamis and directed you to go forth and use it, don’t grow weary in well-doing. Remember that you have been given everything you need in Him… It won’t be done by your power or strength, but by His Spirit!
I pray this brief message has blessed you in your journey! Check out some of the scriptures below for more on this topic. Of course, there are many more scriptures and passages on this topic than captured here, so as always, I encourage you to continue in your own Bible study on the topic and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in how this applies to you in this season and in various situations in your life.
Have a healthy & wholesome week,
Love you bunches 💞
Scriptures
Deuteronomy 8:18
Zechariah 4:6
Luke 1:31-35
Luke 10:19
Acts 1:8
2 Corinthians 9:8
Happy Wellness Wednesday, Garden Fam 🌸
I originally wrote this to and for myself, so clearly I needed it first, but I’m sharing it here for those who may need to be strengthened in their faith as well… true faith.
From my personal journal entry, written on Monday, Sept. 18th…
Sooo, whole thought loop that I won’t waste time and space listing here… but it led me to John 2:24, which basically talks about how people in Jerusalem during Passover believed in Jesus when they saw the miracles He performed. It talks about how Jesus didn’t trust them, though, because He “knew the nature of man.”
Initially, this scripture highlighted to me the fact that Jesus loved everyone, but HE did not trust everyone, because He knew their nature(s). That’s definitely still very valid, but today, in reading it, the Lord highlighted another aspect of it concerning faith. The commentary on verses 23-25 says, “Jesus’ knowledge of human nature pierces the superficiality of faith in Him on account of His miracles.”
Here’s what I know, the Lord will def use miracles at times to draw people to Himself, but also, we see over and over that Jesus was NOT in the business of proving Himself to people who already had dout in their hearts and minds, and were looking for Him to prove Himself before believing. I believe the miracles He performed were, of course, for the benefit of the person healed, set free, etc., but also to witness to those whose hearts were already prompted for belief, and not to disprove disbelievers. We see many times (if not all) that the faith and belief of the person, or at least their friends, parents, etc. was needed. Jesus didn’t mind helping people in their unbelief concerning the possibility of things changing as long as they believed in Him and who He said He was. I believe it’s the same way for us today.
Signs, miracles, and wonders should very well be a regular part of the Christian life, in our churches, in our homes, in our communities, etc. for the benefit of those in need and for drawing people in to the Lord… but not as an instrument to change the minds of those who are already set on disbelieving. Unfortunately, that includes [disbelieving] Christians, too. God doesn’t mind us asking Him to help us increase our faith for the next big thing He’s promised, but HE surely won’t be tap dancing for anyone who takes the stance that they’ll believe Him when they see it, whatever “it” may be. That’s not faith!
As such, I believe God is increasing the faith of His children in this hour. HE is stretching our resolve to believe in Him, His power, and who He is before we see anything. Over are the days of getting by on superficial “faith” that believes only because we saw. The Lord has always been looking for and resting upon those who believed in Him without ever seeing the thing come to pass… [those who believed in Him before He even began to share His promises to them]. Our faith rests on the back of Abraham, who chose to believe in a God he’d never even heard of before, and who died believing God would continue to fulfill the generational promises He had made to Abram.
Luke 1:45 says, “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” We are blessed when we believe what God says before we ever see it. And we can believe what He says when we truly believe in Him. God is always going to do His part, but will we choose to have true faith in Him enough to know and rest in that? Or do we have superficial faith that needs a sign, miracle, or wonder before we’ll consider believing?
If you’ve been lingering in option 2, I invite you today to develop true faith that believes before ever seeing anything. Build your faith on the solid rock, Jesus Christ, and rest assured that it’s a firm foundation!
Love you bunches,
Rhaven Epiphani 💞
Hey Garden Fam,
We touched on this a bit in this video, but with today's faith topic, I wanted to also share these specific details for those who are newly saved and/or those who need a reminder of this reality and how to overcome the voice of 'the accuser'. I pray it blesses you and strengthens your walk with Jesus and your resolve in knowing you have been made new in Him!
Love you bunches 💞
Just so you are not caught off guard...
Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the most wonderful decision you can make in life! In doing so, I do want to warn you that unfortunately, not everyone will be happy that you’ve chosen to follow Jesus.
Once you accept Jesus Christ and begin to yield to the Holy Spirit, Satan will inevitably arise with accusations based on who you were or what you’ve done in the past. He will either do this through a person or just in the Spirit. He may even try to misconstrue your current actions now that you are living for the Lord.All of this happened to Jesus and now, with Him living within us, we can expect the same. When this happens, you must know with assurance that you’ve been forgiven, and that by accepting Jesus Christ, you have been made new. The old you is dead!
Psalm 103:12 says that “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” It is the devil who is the accuser of the brethren. Only the devil is upset to see people repent. Only the devil is pressed to hang on to the old man that dies when someone accepts Jesus Christ as Lord. Only the devil wants to continue to recount someone’s sins and dispositions from before they accepted Jesus or before He developed the fruits of His Spirit within them…Woe to the one who is determined to constantly being up what God has thrown far away... But that is the nature of the devil and his demons. 🤷🏾♀️
When the voice of the accuser rises up, either within you or around you, recognize that it is not the voice of God! God would not seek to condemn us for sins we have confessed and He has forgiven. God corrects us and redirects us. He convicts us when we are wrong, but once we have confessed and turned away, He is no longer interested in remembering the old. He focuses on guiding us into the new. When condemnation or accusations are thrown at you, intentionally choose to hide under the shadows of the sacrifice Jesus made for you. You don’t need to justify yourself or try to outdo the old works with “good works.” You simply need to rest in knowing that your sins have been forgiven. You simply need to know that you are in right standing with God because you’ve accepted Jesus Christ. You simply need to continue following the leading of the Holy Spirit. You can also speak Isaiah 54:17 and condemn the voices of accusations against you… you are a child of God now and that is your heritage! Don't allow the enemy to steal or mute the joy of your new life or growth in Christ. Silence him with the Word & continue rejoicing!
Pray for Your Enemies & Rejoice When Others Repent
Jesus desires that none perish, but that all come to repentance — as such, that is what we should want as well. We should all rejoice when we see others repenting and turning back to God. Posture your heart to celebrate when people repent and come to Jesus, even those who once positioned themselves as your enemy. Pray for your enemies & rejoice if you see them repent and escape the wrath & judgment of God. You’ve escaped the eternal judgment of God because of grace by your faith in Jesus Christ. It was literally a free gift to you. Why wouldn’t you want that for someone else?