Many will say, "But I've asked and God didn't answer, so I end every prayer with 'if it's your will God?.'" Others complain, "He may do it for you, but not for me. I'm tired of waiting." Still others, "I was healed in this way, but then my finances started to suffer."
Who am I kidding? Haven't we all said one or all of these in our hearts at one time or another?
My favorite question during suffering... one word:
"Why?"
God never answers me when I say why at my most frustrating and painful moments. Later in His word , when I'm "actually" listening, He gently teaches me James 1:2-7.
Be joyful while you are going through all different kinds of trials! The Lord is proving/testing your belief in the gospel and a supernatural God. This proving of your faith produces perseverance, which is essentially stick-to-itiveness. Yes, you heard that right! That is a real word!! So what are we sticking to? Our suffering? Certainly not! We are sticking to Jesus, to our faith in Jesus, the Name above every Name.
Stick-to-itiveness
Pay attention to the word produces; the Greek word is κατεργάζομαι. The tense of the verb is perfect infinitive which is very important in order to understand this passage. The sentence should be translated "God tests my faith 'to produce' perseverance" (stick-to-itiveness). The infinitive tense means that it's connecting the verb with another verb. Perfect tense in the Greek means that "the progress has been completed and the results of the action are continuing on, in full effect. (http://www.ntgreek.org/)" Therefore, God tests my faith through trials, which will result in continually persevering with steadiness.
If perseverance is complete, yet continual, then this would mean that we are in a place of wholeness, despite our physical lacking, expecting healing and wisdom from a supernatural God, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
The Lord is doing something deep in your spirit, etching off the impurities little by little and working out your salvation; this is healing too. Eternal salvation for you and those around you is worth more than gold or silver. See where Jesus forgives before He heals the man on the mat (Luke 5:17-26).
So... should I expect God to move? the answer is certainly YES....
BUT
Speed and perseverance don't go together. Remember, when we arrive at perseverance, then you are complete, not needing speed but steadfastness. You see, while you want relief, God wants YOU more. Your faith and love for Him grows in the longevity. The thing is, He IS moving and has been moving, but we haven't opened our eyes to see. We seem to be creatures that forget a lot. We have many testimonies from yesterday where God has taken us out of a situation miraculously, yet we cannot see how God could move in our current situation. Why? We are not living with expectant hearts, remembering the past miracles and expecting Him to take care of our future as He promised. Whether we are on one side of the trial or the other, we should be walking in maturity and wholeness through perseverance!!
The NASB is the best translation of vs. 4, "And let endurance (stick-to-itiveness) have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
And so,
We are seeing with the wrong eyes. When we see our trials through the lens of our physical eyes, all we can see is brokenness, lacking, and incompleteness.
If we are complete in our faith by walking out steadily in our perseverance, then yes we absolutely expect God to move every time. He may say "not yet", or "my grace is sufficient for you (2 Cor 12:9)" in some areas, but He WILL move. Physical healing WILL come now or later and sometimes it's when we are PERFECTLY whole as in Revelation 21.
Friends, you ARE mature and complete if you are walking in perseverance. During this time of perseverance, you stand in your undeserved yet rightful heavenly place through Jesus' righteousness, and EXPECT God to move every time. But don't "see" with your natural eyes. However, healing in the "spiritual" will also manifest in the natural!!
Pay attention to verse 5. Above all we should seek wisdom. Tonight I'm going to a special service in DC, where Kris Vallotton is speaking. He is from Bethel and people are constantly being healed physically in their church. I'm going to bring the list of all my diagnoses and expect something from the Lord. What I will ask for first above all is wisdom. I want Kris Vallotton's mantle and I'm going to ask for it and expect it!!! More than anything that's my desire!! The Lord sustains me daily, and I want to share His wisdom and revelation with others so that they can understand God's Word. (For another blog: I was able to ask a demon, "Why haven't you killed me?" And it said, "I can't, only He (Jesus) can.") God sustains me.
Ephesians 1:17-23 Paul asks God to give the Ephesians the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, which brings about knowing Him better. "I pray that the EYES of your HEART may be enlightened in order that you may know the HOPE to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." (vs. 18-19) Paul is not talking about our physical eyes; he is talking about our spiritual eyes. As our eyes are enlightened (able to see), we have hope in our calling and believe in our inheritance and we have the same power that raised Christ from the dead, the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:11 - And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
I'm walking in perseverance expecting you to give me more wisdom and revelation through your Word and through this wise gentleman, Kris Vallotton tonight. Lord above all I expect to grow in revelation. I'm bringing a list of my illnesses and expecting that you will heal me in some regard. I will walk away in faith believing and expecting. Lord I thank you that you sent this man to me. I know that he's there for others, but truly it's a miracle that he's going to be in DC. I just can't see it any other way; you have something great for me and my family! And, THANK YOU for sending my dad up as well! As you already know all this, I'm going to share the list of illnesses so all can know that despite my many many trials, I stand steadfastly in perseverance and stick-to-itiveness. I am complete in that I have YOU and I stand strong, because when I am weak you are strong in me. It's not by my strength, but I hold onto a supernatural strength through the power of YOU the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Thank you Jesus for walking, willingly to the cross in order that we may be saved and our sins forgiven receiving eternal life. Jesus if you can walk through these trials, I believe I can through the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray all these things in your Holy righteous name... Jesus.
Lyme Borealis Complex
Addison’s disease
Low Immunity
Ray nodes syndrome
Dystonia
Myoclonic seizures
Arthritis all joints
Bulging disc in L5 S1
Arthritis up my spine
12 Lesions on the Brain
Pineal Cyst in brain
Gastroparesis
Pacemaker
Dysautonomia
POTS
High Blood Pressure
Lyme Asthma
Sinusitis (3 surgeries)
Gallbladder Removed
Hypothyroidism
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue
Generalized Weakness
TMJ
Memory Loss
Anxiety
Chronical illness depression
Sleep Apnea
Restless Leg Syndrome
Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome
Symptoms are too many to list! God sustains me!