WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE? (PART 1)
TEXT:
"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (Isaiah chapter 53 verse 1, King James Version).
To me, among all of the fruit of the spirit, faith is second only to love. Too many Christians don't understand this. This accounts for why you find people go for christian tapes/cds or books on finance, healing, deliverance, etc; and neglect those on faith. The Bible says in Romans 14 verse 23 that whatever is done without faith is sin. This is so because faith is sine-qua-non to a successful relationship with God. The Bible says that without faith, it's impossible to please God and that whoever comes to Him must believe that He is and that He is a Rewarder of those that diligently seek Him (Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6).
That we are in a physical world where we are subject to sensuality isn't to mean that this is all there's about life. There exists a spiritual world out there which is in fact more real than the physical world. There are those that believe that this physical world is the real world and that the spirit world doesn't exist because they can't see it with the natural eye. The truth is that the spirit world is the real world. This one we see with our optical eyes isn't the real world (2nd Corinthians 4 verse 18; Hebrews 11 verse 3)
As different as this material world is from the spirit world, so also is the governing principle. While the material physical world is governed by the principles of the senses, the spirit world on the other hand is governed by the principles of faith. It is in the area of healing that this remarkable difference is mostly brought to light, which I intend to highlight for our understanding.
Oftentimes, diseases and illnesses have symptoms by which we know and differentiate them. Symptoms are of the senses, we feel them no doubt, but we don't consider them because their existence runs counter to the Word of God. Though they are felt and most times excruciatingly, yet the Word of God calls on us to discountenance them. According to Scripture, they are lying vanities. Indeed, everything and anything that runs counter to God's Word isn't true, no matter their magnitude in the physical realm. The Bible clearly tells that we walk by faith and not by sensory perceptions (2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7). Hence according to the Book of Jonah chapter 2 verse 8, they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
This is where our faith is called to question! Whose report will you believe? Do you believe God's report that says that by the stripes of the Lord Jesus you were healed, or do you believe the sensory report of the symptoms that are evidently felt all over you? Sometimes, though the symptoms of a sickness may linger for a while, faith declares healing because God's Word says so. Healing may not manifest immediately (Luke 17 verses 11 to 14); so, keep believing; irrespective of the fact of physical symptoms. With time, what is established in the spirit realm will manifest in the physical for your enjoyment if you don't give up.
Maybe your case is not sickness. Whatever it is, once you have fully complied with the Word of God and offered the prayer of faith, you can from that very moment declare yourself in line with what God's Word says you are, notwithstanding that your situation hasn't yet changed in the physical. You have to believe in God because the Bible says, If we ask according to His will, He hears us and if we know that He hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him (1st John chapter 5 verse 14).
Actually, your physical situation doesn't tell your real state of life. For instance, God called Gideon a mighty man of valor when in reality, he was far from being one (Judges chapter 6 verse 12). Also, the Lord Jesus called His disciples the light of the world at a time when they were everything else but the light of the world. The good news is that given time and faith in the Lord, what the Lord called them became manifest.
If you can believe in God in spite of contrary physical evidence, the Arm of the Lord will be revealed to you eventually.
PRAYER:
Father, I believe your report about my situation in spite of contrary physical circumstances of life.