BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Can you be perplexed and clueless and still be up instead of down? If you're in faith you can. You can be clueless and happy. It's possible! Faith people would never say something like, "Why isn't it working?" Why would you believe it's not working? Because of what you see and feel, or don't see and feel? If that's the case, then you're walking by sight, not by faith. Faith is up. Anyone can be up when the money is in your hand, or the symptoms are gone and you feel great. But when you're hurting and you rejoice because you're healed—that's real faith. Real faith has real joy and real peace in the midst of contradictions, symptoms and lack. The Spirit of Faith Is the Spirit of Victory If God were moved by needs and people acting pitiful, miracles would be popping up all over the planet. But that's not what moves God. God is moved by faith. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Faith will never acknowledge that it's whipped, because it can't be whipped. It will never acknowledge that God's Word didn't work, because God's Word works— always! Faith will never concede defeat! There are many Christians who don't always understand, but that doesn't mean they can't trust God with all their hearts. Whatever is going on that's troubling your understanding or feelings, don't lean on or rely on that. If your thoughts counter what God says, then learn to cast them down. Negative or troublesome thoughts are one way the enemy tempts you. But the Bible says we are to slap those thoughts down: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). God said I'm healed. He said my needs are met. He said my steps are ordered. He keeps me. He protects me. With long life He will satisfy me. Those are the thoughts I choose to dwell and meditate on. Psalm 5:11 says, "Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice." Almost every Psalm has in it the idea of trust and praise. Why? Because if you're trusting, you're praising. One of the easiest ways to get in faith and rest, and stay there, is to thank God and praise Him genuinely all the time. You don't do this if you believe it's not working or it's no use. You're not going to say it's not working because it is working! It B V O V : 1 7 has worked! No one will be able to get you to say, "What if ?" because you don't believe in what-ifs. You don't have to understand it. You don't have to have all the answers. You just trust. Frustration Is Not Faith Some years ago, I was believing for a specific thing when it occurred to me that I'd been believing for a year and a half, and it seemed like I was further from it than I was when I started. I thought, What's the deal? I was perplexed. I didn't understand. And the Spirit of God said something I wasn't expecting. He said, Keith, frustration is not faith. Have you ever been frustrated? When you're frustrated, you begin to waver and doubt. Before you know it, you're in fear. Whether it's mild dread or full-blown panic, it's the same spirit, only different degrees. There's a spirit of fear, but there's also a spirit of faith. And there are different degrees of faith. There's a little persuaded, partially persuaded, getting-there persuaded and sleeping-better persuaded. And then there's father-of-faith Abraham, change-the-world, fully, fully persuaded. Fully persuaded is completely at rest. It's fully persuaded just like you are about gravity or breathing oxygen out of the atmosphere. What are you struggling about? Are you struggling over God's Word being true? Are you struggling over His faithfulness? The good fight of faith is the fight, or the struggle, to enter into and stay in rest. Faith is a decision. Make the decision today to trust, being fully persuaded that what He has promised He is faithful to perform. Then enter the rest and stay there until you get the answer you've been waiting for! Real faith has real joy and real peace in the midst of contradictions, symptoms and lack.

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