Will you believe?

Will you believe?

God is patient with us. He respects our boundaries. He doesn’t force you beyond your will.

Have you ever given a gift to someone, for them to not seem fussed at all about it. You’ve put all that planning and preparation into choosing the perfect gift only to feel rejected – like the receiving party didn’t even appreciate it.

Think how God might feel. He is your Father and loves you dearly, He has given you all these free gifts and is so excited for you to receive them and for them to become a part of you. He knows how much they will enrich and bless your life. Yet the gift just stays there unopened.

We open the gift labelled Salvation, but tiptoe in unbelief or fear or otherwise around other gifts.

Maybe we don’t believe they could really be for us. Maybe it’s “easier” to live in the comfort of what we know, rather than risk the unknown.

There are gifts labelled healing, forgiveness, freedom from shame and countless others. They’re right in front of you. There’s no padlock or secret code you need before you can open them and receive the contents. It’s all there waiting for you. You must put action to your faith and open them.

In Acts 3:1-11 we read how Peter healed a crippled beggar. Now when Peter gave the man what he could – healing in the name of Jesus – he commanded with the words ‘get up and walk’ He didn’t stand there saying, “Lord, please heal this man of his crippled state.” He knew the authority he had been given in Jesus and he commanded it to be.

And immediately if you pause there – do you see anything different? Not instantly. See Peter has commanded the healing to occur and it has – but when do we see it in the natural? We see it when Peter reaches out his hand to the man and as he stands the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. At this point he fully received his healing into the natural and started to walk and leap and praise God.

What I am suggesting here is that you have already been healed, you already have it. Perhaps there’s a spiritual battle, perhaps there’s still some things you need to work through before you fully receive it into the natural, but it’s there. Often, only when we put action to our faith, do we fully realise the healing we already have been given.

I have struggled since I was 15 with food trauma in one way or another. At times I have seen breakthrough and others I’ve felt myself slipping back into old patterns. I used to tell people I have allergies because that’s easier than explaining what I have really been through. It all started with a decision from the doctors that they felt would ease other symptoms I was having. There was a time I was not eating anything and taking antihistamines with every meal. Fast forward a lot of years and my body braces for impact whenever I think about trying new food. My body is stuck in trauma expecting the same reactions as I had all those years ago.

These leads me to my next point – the things we keep hidden are the things we will struggle to receive healing for. The devil will have a field day with the things you keep to yourself. I don’t mean you should tell everyone, but there should be a trusted person, mentor, pastor who you can trust to come alongside you and strengthen you in your faith and speak truth over your body. The devil can’t touch what has already been brought out into the light.

I know I am healed on the inside but there was a barrier preventing me from stepping out and taking action to receiving it in the natural. I felt it weigh so heavy on me. I know, because I’ve spent so many years praying through this one, taking ten steps forward, then twelve steps back, that it is more than physical. There is a spiritual battle going on. What we need to realise is that we have power and authority over the devil and all demons. But unless we are taught how to exercise it, we can stay in bondage our whole lives. You don’t need to scream at the devil, it’s not how loud you shout it, it’s the authority you have in Jesus. When you know who you are and what you have been given in Him, the devil knows. You have the power on the inside of you to speak to the enemy and see him crushed under your feet. He has no power except for what you give him.

I have someone that I trust completely that I shared with, and this person prayed for me – they weren’t in the room, and I didn’t hear the prayer in person – but they let me know what they had prayed for. They operated in the authority they had been given in Jesus. They believed fully in what Jesus has done for us. Almost immediately after this prayer I was able to try something I hadn’t had in a long time. I kept buying it and it kept going in the bin. There was something spiritual holding me back. Not anymore. I have also had something new again. I do have to stay strong and keep speaking truth afterwards, but the first step in breakthrough has occurred.

I want to encourage you to keep hope, to keep feeding yourself truth, to find those people who will stand with you and declare life and health over you. We are built for community and we most often receive through others who are obedient to God and operate in the authority they have been given.

Prayer – Lord, I pray for every person reading this that they will be able to receive all the blessings and gifts that you have bestowed upon them. That they will steward all those gifts well and walk in the freedom that was purchased and paid for at the cross. I pray that whatever the person reading this is struggling with right now, they will receive clarity and wisdom for how they too can receive their healing and walk into freedom. Thank You Lord that you purchased more than our salvation at the cross, but also our healing and ability to live with authority over the devil. We can expect to have troubles in this world, but we can rest in peace knowing that with you we will overcome them all. Amen.