With yesterday being Mother’s Day, I have thought a lot about how mine used to encourage me. She used to tell me “Sis, if you really want this, you have to believe.” At that time, I thought she meant I should believe in myself. And to a certain degree, that isn’t a bad thing. She was my forever supporter and motivator! But, knowing mom as I did, I don’t believe she meant that I should believe ONLY in my own capabilities. Her belief lay completely in Jesus Christ and she tried her very best to instill that same belief in myself and my siblings.
Unfortunately, there were many wasted years when I didn’t take that to heart. But FORTUNATELY, that old proverb from Proverbs came back.
Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Do you ever wonder why we have to be so stubborn in accepting something that is so good for us??
Finally, I realized, as much as I loved my mom, as much as I trusted her, that isn’t where my hope and belief should be. Mom always knew that, I was the slow one. My hope and belief lies entirely in Jesus Christ. My eternity lies in Jesus Christ. I have confident expectations.
So, whether it is your health or somebody else’s, whether it is somebody’s salvation or general well-being, pray with confident expectation! We serve a God of power and miracles.
Pray Unceasingly!!
In His light,
Lois
Confident Expectations
The Daniel Plan
We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.
—Romans 8:24-25 NLT
We are saved by trusting God. Trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have. A person who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he’ll get it. But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, the delay teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.
Biblical hope isn’t just a wish. It’s a confident expectation. We are confident that what God has promised for us on earth and for eternity, he will fulfill. We are so confident that we can even thank him in advance for what he has promised to do. We might pray, “God, thank you for The Daniel Plan. Thank you that, with your strength, it’s going to be different this time. Thank you that I have no condemnation, that I have your Spirit, that I can trust in you. No matter how much time this takes, I am waiting with confident hope in you.”
Food for Thought: God’s promises are certain; we can thank him in advance for everything he has promised