Unwavering Faith

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives all men liberally and it shall be given him. But, let him ask in faith; not wavering. For he that waivers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not a man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. - James 1:5-8

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. - James 1:14

You have heard the saying "be careful what you ask for because you just might get it."

My question is, what are we really asking for? We tend to go after what we want, even if we know it is not good for us.

James warns us that if we are drawn away by our own lust, then we will be enticed. Entertain a thought long enough and it will become an action. What are your thoughts?

Let's take inventory of our thoughts...

We know that God does not tempt us. He can not tempt us, there is no evil in Him. He tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. To resist the devil, you must recognize that if the temptation does not come from God, it has to be coming from somewhere; our flesh and the devil.

We must not be double minded. We should not believe we will have what we ask if we are double minded. Do we pray, 'Lord deliver me from that chocolate,' yet, we keep staring at that chocolate cake? Are we really resisting that chocolate cake if we do not remove it from our sight? Of course not! Keep your focus on that cake and you will eat it.

Personally, I think that if we pray while focusing on something else, what we are really asking for is a loop hole. We are asking God to make an exception for us. But, that is another post.

Let's now apply this to relationships...

Are you in, or fresh out of, a relationship that you know is/was not good for you? Not only is/was it not good for you emotionally, but it is hindering you from walking in your calling.

We compromise, reason, rationalize and deny; to make what is wrong, right.

Sister, we have all been there.

I remember praying that God would break all ties with a certain man and the whole time I would stare at the phone trying to will him to call me. I would replay every word, action and memory of him in my mind. I was a miserable mess. You see, the reality is, I wasn't really asking God to deliver me, I was making excuses and asking God to go against His plan for my life and make an exception just this once. Thank God for His mercy and grace.

Could God deliver me from that bondage I allowed myself to be in? Yes! Did He? Yes! But I had to first set my resolve that I would not be double minded and if I truly wanted God to answer me and give me what I want (deliverance) then I had to adjust my sight.

I had to break connections (resist) and not waiver (faith) and the receive (His peace) and walk it out (see post Mr. Dangerous).

You see, sometimes when we know better, our prayers just become empty words; noise. We have no faith in our expression. We ask and we don't receive, because what we ask for is not God's will for us.

God wills for us to be free. Not to be slaves to our emotions or entangled with unholy relationships.

As a mother, I delight in giving my children good gifts. But, there are some things they ask for that I would not give them because it would harm them, or they aren't  ready for it, yet. How much greater is our Father God as a parent than we are? Much greater!

The challenge today is to take inventory of our thoughts and motives.

Rather than cling to a dead man (wrong relationships) cling to life!

He is the healer and comforter. Let Him be your soothing balm, in Him you will find strength. Let go of what keeps you in emotional bondage. I am not saying it will be easy, but it is possible.

You have been created with a purpose. Submit yourself to Jesus and watch His marvelous works unfold before you.

Be free and stay free!