Live God Adventures

“For we live by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 TPT

Have you ever been in a situation where you know the promise of the Lord, you know what you’ve prayed for, you know what you heard from the Lord but what you’re seeing is NOT that? Maybe you’re going through a hard time, finances are tight, there are problems in your family or on your job and you just don’t know what’s going on! You feel like you’re in a cloud of frustration, you look at each situation but just cannot see the Lord!

Read 1 Kings 18

There are so many different pieces to this testimony in the Bible. But what I want to focus on are verses 41-46. Elijah knew that there would be rain, but he didn’t see it. Elijah told Ahab to go eat and drink that rain would be coming but Elijah didn’t go “eat and drink” with him, Elijah didn’t go to a friends house and chat, he didn’t turn on Netflix and binge watch a series. No, Elijah climbed to the top of a mountain, bent down, and interceded. I was listening to a podcast recently and the preacher said that someone told him once that his currently level of prayer was not going to take him where the Lord was leading him. When I heard that something shifted inside. I thought about it several times that week. Then, a friend of mine was preaching recently and he said “It’s warfare time. The way you’ve been praying isn’t enough.” I immediately thought of that podcast I was listening to. Elijah told his servant to go look toward the sea for rain. The servant went to look but didn’t see anything. This could have been discouraging for Elijah but he didn’t move, he stayed and continued praying. Seven times Elijah sent his servant to look for rain. How many of us give up on the first or second time when things don’t look our way? Elijah was persistent, constant, steadfast in his prayer. Finally, the seventh time the servant saw a “cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” That’s all Elijah needed! It wasn’t some massive cloud, but it was the promise! At that promise Elijah told Ahab to get going before the rain stops him! “Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came” verse 45.

Do we need to “step up” our current level of prayer?

Will we wait and persevere even when we cannot see?

Thinking about having faith when we cannot see also makes me think of Noah. Read Genesis 6-9 (or listen to it.) There was so much sin and darkness in Noah’s time, yet he lived righteous and blameless (Gen. 6:9). God gave Noah specific instructions on how to build an ark and how Noah’s family would be saved. Has the Lord given you specific instructions that, over time, seem mundane and frustrating and almost like nonsense? I’m sure Noah felt that way sometimes. Would rain really come? Would he really be saved? Would his prayer really be answered? It was hard work and no one was supportive of him. But he stayed steadfast. He worked and persevered through it all. Finally, the rains came. But it wasn’t pretty. He was stuck on this ark with animals of every kind and his family. I love animals, and I love my family. But I know that my introverted self would not want to be on a boat with them for 40 days and 40 nights. Again, I love my family. 🙂 Sometimes the Lord gives us what we need but it doesn’t look like what we thought. Noah was saved and safe, his family was saved and safe, but stuck on an ark. Finally, “God remembered Noah” (Gen. 8:1) and the waters receded.

When things get dark and dim, when circumstances around seem bleak. Remind yourself of who lives inside you! Remind yourself of WHO GOD IS! GET. IN. THE. WORD! Darkness cannot live where light is. Death cannot life where life is. The enemy will take every opportunity to whisper lies to you, to make you feel that your attitude or hopeless feeling, your words of death and destruction are valid. But what does scripture say? Do you believe the Word? Do you trust that God is who He says He is? Then get alone with Him, focus on HIS words and remind the enemy of his future (hint: it’s not pretty)!

I pray that your trust, your God Confidence, your reliance on the Lord, your passion for God, your pursuit of Him is so increased. That you hear from Him, you seek Him, you love Him like never before! I pray for revival and speak life to those things you thought were dead! I pray that you are reminded of who you are in Christ!

Journal Prompts:

(Suggestion: When you see scripture listed below with a journal prompt or throughout the blog, writing that scripture out and hanging it somewhere that you will see it frequently is always a good idea. Learn the scriptures throughout the week, meditate on them, speak them over yourself.)

1. Write 2 Corinthians 5:7 and put it somewhere that you will see it, read it, and repeat it often!

2. Spend some time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those things that you need to intercede for. Maybe he would call you to fast for these things, set aside an additional time to pray for these things, let the Lord lead you.