BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

"I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!" (AMPC). You give God authority to act in your life by trusting Him with your heart, and speaking words of faith with your mouth. Jesus taught us that principle in Mark 11: 22-23 when He said, "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." The devil knows that truth, so he tries to turn it around to work in his favor. He can't come in and force things on you the way he can with those who are unsaved and outside God's covenant of protection. So he has to deceive you into giving him a place with your words—speaking words of fear and doubt. Have you ever noticed that when you feel sick, the first thing you want to do is tell someone about it? If you have a problem, you want to talk about it. Somehow you think if you can say it, you'll feel better. That's exactly what the devil wants you to do. But don't do it! Instead, when trouble comes, zip your lips. Don't say anything about that situation until you're centered on the Word of God, and it's in your heart in abundance. Then when you open your mouth, you'll be able to speak the Word. You'll be able to say what God says about your situation— not just to yourself and your friends, but to the situation itself. That's right! Mark 11:23 says we speak to the mountain. That means we don't talk about the problem. We talk to the problem! We tell it what we want it to do. We tell it to be removed according to the Word of God. It may sound strange but it's scriptural, and it is a vital part of attending to our covenant of salvation. Remember: When 2 2 : B V O V we speak the Word of God, we shut the devil out and he doesn't have any place to work. It's Not Too Late You might be reading this and thinking, Gloria, all this is wonderful, but it's too late for me. I'm already in trouble. I haven't been walking with God, and there is no way out. If that's your situation, let me encourage you. God is good. He is merciful. Many times I've seen people call out to Him in situations that had gone so far, there seemed to be no solution. It looked like it was too late for those people. But it wasn't. God still turned things around. He is kind and He is good! If you will take your stand on the Word of God, and make a quality decision to give your life to Him, He can make a way where there seems to be no way. He'll deliver you—not because of what you've done, but because of what Jesus already did for you. I'm not saying your problems will instantly disappear. But there can be an instant change. It will start on the inside of you—in your heart. If you trust the Lord, you can have joy and peace on the inside even when things on the outside are challenging. When you stick with Him, keep listening to His Word and obeying it, attending to this great covenant of salvation He has given you, day by day your life will change. If you'll keep the door of faith open to God and give Him time to work, He will restore what the devil has stolen from you and repair what's been broken. He wants you whole. "Oh, but I'm not worthy!" you might say. No, on your own you're not. Neither am I. But Jesus is, and we are in Him. Our righteousness is in Him. He lived, died and rose again so we could be blessed with a covenant of peace. Don't let it slip away by neglecting it, and don't let the trouble of this world overwhelm you. Instead, take heart…He has overcome the world. And in Him we have too! We speak to the mountain. That means we don't talk about the problem. We talk to the problem!

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