SPEAK UP

Today’s Focus: God has given you a measure of authority that is activated by your faith.

If God is the author and finisher of our faith, then our faith is the author and finisher of our lives.

Here’s the amazing part: you get to determine the outcome of the story.

I get it. It sounds very presumptuous and prideful to call yourself the author of your life.

We understand God is the only one who knows everything, sets everything in motion, and ultimately determines our destiny.

But there are clear examples in Scripture where we learn that our personal faith, not a general one, is the deciding factor.

To the leper who returns to say, “Thank you,” Jesus says, “Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19).

To the centurion who told Jesus not to come to his home to heal a servant, but merely to speak the word, Jesus says, “I haven’t seen this kind of faith in all of Israel” (Matthew 8:10).

You see, this isn’t name it and claim it. This is ask and act accordingly.

We need to connect our faith to an outcome and then operate (move, decide, pray) according to the faith we have authored.

Just like a writer will add details and plots to a novel being written, we can add our details and specific decisions to the faith we are walking in. It’s in those moments that we move from wishing to believing.

Faith must be both the prevailing evidence and the substance of our actions.

Just like God gave Adam the authority to name the animals, we have the opportunity to re-name our situations and re-evaluate them in light of what we believe.

The diagnosis that the doctor has pronounced?

You can name it an opportunity for healing.

The frustrating relationship you have with a co-worker or employer?

Name that frustration, a chance to practice grace.

The writer’s block that has haunted you for weeks?

Name it a creative sabbath and a chance to wait for God to breathe fresh inspiration into your mind.

Your authority isn’t in dictating the circumstances. It’s in identifying them.

ACTION STEP

Think of the situation or problem that you have been viewing as an obstacle and mentally rename it an opportunity for God to show up in your life. Practice using that perspective throughout the day as you pray and seek God’s guidance in that situation.