BOLD.faith....
There are a lot of things that I love about being a Christ follower, but one of my favorites is when you are able to explicitly experience God's reigning truth that He speaks about in His word. So today's post is to encourage you all to know that God is real, living, and ready to reveal Himself to you.
So if you have been reading my previous posts, you know about my God-sized dream that I have been pursuing...well I guess I haven't been too explicit with what the dream is exactly, but let's just say it has to do with proclaiming God's truth to the nations...well maybe just a group of college students, but it still my nation. Anyway, having a God-sized dreams requires some God-sized faith.
For the past few months I have been struggling with this idea of BOLD faith. Faith that is so confident that the outcome will be right and positive, faith that was convinced that what you believe in 100% sure. Faith that is absolutely certain.A lot of those words kind of scare me since there is so much defined certainness in them. But truly my 'doubt' or 'fear' per say was what was holding me back from my BOLD faith. Doubt that God's truth wasn't really truth. Doubt that what I have told many students and mentees was not true. I doubted that God wasn't going to bless his children who followed him. I doubted his faithfulness and thought that He was going to abandon me in times of trouble. I thought that this God-sized dream that He has put in my heart was not in fact HIS dream for me. I doubted God's truth.
One morning I was reading a devotion and came across this verse:
'Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete' -John 16:24.
As I read it and I thought..well I have too asked for these things that I desire...I've been praying for a full time job for my husband for more than a year! I have been praying that I would be able to do full-time ministry for what seems like forever...or have I? Was I praying in the name of Jordyn or the name of JESUS? There is a difference-am I praying for me and my selfish plan or was I praying that God's plan for me would happen? So that day I decided to change my prayers...I decided to start praying in BOLDNESS that God's plan would happen, not mine. I struggled with this quite a bit since I didn't want to continue at my current job and I truly wanted to pursue my God-sized dream but I knew that I needed to pray in the name of Jesus. So I prayed for days, weeks, months in the name of Jesus Christ.
Through these weeks of BOLD prayer and faith, I was offered my dream job (it requires some hard work, but I got my God-sized dream) AND my husband was offered a full-time job at his company. The two things that, for the last year I had been praying for, but this time I was praying in the name of Jesus Christ and the scripture from John just became my reality. Even as I write this I am overwhelmed with humility, knowing that God's faithfulness and blessings do not require us to do all these dramatic and over the top things. Having BOLD faith doesn't require us to be the most popular person, the person who everyone loves...BOLD FAITH REQUIRES TRUST IN HIM, CHRIST'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, and A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST! Those are the things that we need to focus on and strive for. I have never been more ON FIRE for our Savior and my love for him grows EVERYDAY!
But I had to take a step of faith...a step of BOLD faith. Matthew 21: 21-22:
'Jesus replied, Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask in prayer'
Do you believe? Do you trust that God is who he says he is? Then have BOLD faith to ask for things in the name of Jesus...
Please remember...asking for things in the name of Jesus doesn't mean that you will become rich and famous and have these earthly things given unto you...praying in the name of Jesus means that HIS will be done, not yours and when you are walking hand in hand, heart in heart with Him, the things that you desire for your life will be the same God desires for you too.
I pray that you all have BOLD faith and experience the truth of God that is written in His word. I pray his truth becomes your reality.
