It seemed like a typical Sunday evening as we returned from visiting with family. The day started like most other Sundays, where we hurried to get dressed and out of the door with baby and bags. We had developed a habit of leaving the house just as service was starting. Imagine getting to service after the “rush”, finally settling into whatever seat the usher found for you and gathering yourself to focus while managing your two-year old. Getting through service with a distracted praise and worship experience and broken attention to the message given usually left me feeling tired. By the time we would make it to our grandmother’s house, exchanged pleasantries and had something to eat, I would find my way to the corner of the couch and fall asleep (it wasn’t “the itis”). As we returned to the house, James asked me a question that seemed like a command. “Why are you acting like you don’t have joy?”
It was that moment that the conviction of his question and where it came from shifted me from a place of sulkiness to humbleness and surrender. If I were honest, I could have talked about how I was feeling regarding our finances and business, but I would have been speaking from a place of lack. If I were honest, I could have talked about my tiredness but I would have been admitting that I was afraid to change habits and routines that no longer served me. If I were honest, I would have been speaking a reality that I didn’t desire and negated my responsibility to speak the truth.
The ability that we have to speak life into what we perceive as a dismal situation comes from a place of knowing that there’s a positive rescue (hope) for our situation. Our faith makes the difference in what we look at and what we see. Yes, anyone can look at a present health issue, financial problem or relationship matter and say all kinds of things that don’t align with God’s will. However, a person of faith can be in that same situation yet see from a different place. When we have faith to believe bigger and better than what may be present, we are exercising our will to see it from God’s perspective and that is the truth. That truth is more real than what we are experiencing right now.
For the past 3-6 months or longer you have been dealing with an issue that has not changed. We challenge you to find a scripture that speaks to that issue – health, business, relationship, finances, spirituality, purpose. Whatever it is, write the scripture down, save it to your phone, carry it with you, even put it on your wall or refrigerator. Saturate your environment, and your heart with truth so that in its abundance it will become what you speak. Be assured that God produces the fruit of your lips.