Today's "From Faith To Faith" devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland is another very vital lesson for every born again believer!
Be of Good Cheer
And now I exhort you to be of
good cheer. Acts 27:22
What do you do when you’re in a
really perilous situation?
If you’re like I used to be, you
cry out to God in desperation. One afternoon when I was squalling to God about
something, He interrupted me and said, Kenneth, did you know I don’t hear
the cry of My children when they cry out in desperation?
“What?” I said. “I thought You
did.”
He said, No, I hear the
desperation cry of a sinner because that’s all he can cry about. But once you
get born again, son, you ought to be crying out of faith. I hear the faith cry.
What is a faith cry? It’s calling
things that be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). It’s what the Bible means
when it says, “…Let the weak say, I am strong” (Joel 3:10).
The Apostle Paul knew how to use
the faith cry. That’s why, in Acts 27, he exhorted the men on that battered,
sinking ship to “be of good cheer.” He was telling them to start acting by
faith.
Can’t you imagine what those sailors thought when he said that? Listen
to that stupid preacher. We’re sinking and he says be of good cheer. We’ve
thrown everything we have overboard and he says be of good cheer.
You may feel just like those
sailors did, right now. You may feel like your ship’s going down. You may feel
like crying out in desperation. But don’t do it. Instead, do what Paul said
and be of good cheer!
Cry out to God in faith and say,
“Lord, I’m not going to panic. I’m not going to despair. I’m going to be of
good cheer because Your Word says You’ll deliver me from this situation” (Psalm
34:19).
Then start being cheerful. It may
take more determination than anything you’ve ever done before, but God will
give you the strength to do it. He’ll give you the power to be cheerful in the
middle of the most ungodly darkness the devil can bring up.
Instead of crying out in
desperation, take a faith stand. Sing and rejoice and praise God for your
deliverance. Be of good cheer and you can be sure God will bring you through
the storm just fine!
He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
No, what is needed os for the born again believer to find of who they are - IN HIM - and what He has given and promised us in His Word. Then, after meditating on that Word so that it rises up big in us (Joshua 1:8), WE go after what we need and desire from Him by faith! Remember that HE has given every believer a measure of the God kind of faith! That is faith that is able to believe God and His Word! WE take that measure and grow our faith by using it and by continuing to 'hear' the Word on every area that we need! Romans 10:17:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Let's be putting the WORD into practice and put the enemy where he belongs; on the run! AMEN! Here are Hillsong Kids with "As The World Shakes":
Shalom in Him!
