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Living By Faith
I am in one of the largest transitions of my life right now. After years of praying, confessing, and believing God for the manifestation of His promises, I find myself on the brink of entering my promised land. After all of the struggles and turmoil and lessons learned and healing that had to take place, that seemingly unobtainable land of milk and honey is not only in eyesight, but also in reach out and touch it distance. I am both humbled and excited. Humbled that God would watch over me so carefully to make sure I got here. Humbled that when things were at their worst, He would not allow me to give up. Humbled that He cares more about me reaching my destiny than even I do. For here I am. I did not get here alone.
Living by faith and walking by faith is not for the faint at heart. I see so many people who really feel as if they are doing just that. It is in their blind spots just how much they depend on a job to pay the bills or look to others who have more resources than they when help is needed or even think that mere life choices are the reason they have advanced as far in their lives as they have. In truth, those things help, but even still, without God’s provision, even they would not exist….despite our best efforts.
Living by faith is like walking around blind and depending on someone to tell you each step to take just before you are to take it. There are times when your equilibrium is totally off and you find yourself just trying to get your balance. Almost as if there is no sense of direction. It is scary to be totally out of control and having to put the total control of your life in a being you can’t even see. Yet, He in all the ways we cannot ‘see’ Him, is more real than everything we can see. So we learn to be still and listen. If there is silence we stand still, just as the children of Israel did when He led them on their journey – guiding by a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). When neither moved, so were the people to stand still and wait.
While waiting on each direction can be slow, even maddening at times, it is a comfort to know that for all I cannot see, I am putting my trust in the one who sees all and who will protect me, if I just walk where He tells me to and avoid the things He tells me to.
And so, entering in, my job of waiting and stepping on demand has not come to an end, but has instead brought me to a higher place, a deeper place where I will need to follow Him even more closely. The Lord told me years ago that I could not obtain His promises for my life doing things my own way. I had to do it His way. I had to trust Him. I had to obey…..even when I had to fight my flesh to do it. And let me say that there were many times I had to obey as tears poured down my face because it hurt or challenged me in ways I was not ready to deal with. And yet, if He brought me to it, apparently I was more ready that I gave myself credit for. Even if I had to ask Him for the help and strength to obey, He honored the effort.
Let me encourage each of you who finds yourself at a crossroads of sorts, more than you want to be blessed, He stands waiting to bless you. More than you want your circumstances to change, He wants you to learn the lessons so that you can be elevated to the next place in Him. More than you want to enter in, it is His greatest desire to see you fulfill all that you were created to do. In this moment, I urge you to take a few moments to seek His face and see where you need to tweak some areas in your walk. Repent for those times when you have done things your own way. Commit to letting Him truly be Lord. Then go and possess your land. It’s there waiting on you.
Changing lives one word at a time....Tumika Patrice Cain
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Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, media personality,
and motivational speaker. Through her imprint, Inkscriptions Publishing &
Media Group, she provides high quality, affordable, mentor-based publishing
services to indie authors, as well as inspired, empowering messages of hope and
abundance through her media outlets. Her works can be found in many
publications, including Fresh Lifestyle Magazine. To learn more about Tumika,
her books, and her services visit the following websites. http://www.TumikaPatrice.com
and http://www.InkscriptionsPMG.com
