There will
always be giants resisting your promise. The presence of giants in your Promised Land does not mean God has not promised.
"For a great door and effectual is opened unto me,
and there are many adversaries" (1 Corinthians 16:9).
For the children of Israel, God promised them that wherever the soles of their feet would touch, it would be their inheritance (Deuteronomy 11:24). But when they went to look at the land, they were weak in faith; they considered the giants and how impossible the situation looked to them in their own strength:
"we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:33).
They considered the grasshoppers instead of their greatness of their God.
When God makes you a promise, the enemy will resist -- expect resistance -- don't be shocked by it and don't make it make you question: "Did God really say?" (Genesis 3:1). That has been the devil's mode of operation from day 1 and will always be -- to get you to doubt the promises of God. Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? (Genesis 3:1). Did God really say you would work at Nike?
Did God really say + Resistance = Doubt, but faith in the promises of God cancels all doubt. You meditate on the promises of God, you focus on God's promises and what He has said -- consistently, continuously. Don't make Him repeat Himself: God has spoken once, Twice I have heard (Psalm 62:11). But, focus requires effort. It is active. Things, situations, the lies of the devil, will try to break your focus on the promises of God. Stay consistent.
Remember, resistance does not mean God did not say. If you've taken the time to seek God's will in prayer (and fasting), or received a Word from a prophet of God or held on to the promises of God, hold on to the promises of God for: God really did say! Don't question the validity of the promises of God in the face of circumstances. The only thing whose validity is questionable is the situation:
For we we look not at the things which are seen...
for the things which are seen are temporal (2 Corinthians 4:18).
But the promises of God are eternal, never changing, never failing.
Next time the devil asks you: Did God really say?
- Yes: God really did say:
- For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20)
- God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through? (Numbers 23:19)
- The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8)
- God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God (Psalm 62:11)
Can God really do it?
- Yes:
- With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)
- He is the I AM (Exodus 3:14): no situation is too great for Him
Focusing on the promises of God is all you need to overcome doubt.
- Meditating on the promises of God increases faith because faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) -- when you meditate, you are constantly hearing.
- Focus has to be a choice -- the devil will want to focus your thoughts on other things. You must actively direct your thoughts to the Word of God. Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Don't just allow thoughts to flit into your head.
It's work -- focusing your thoughts on the promises of God -- but it's worth it.
With Joshua, Caleb and the ten spies:
It wasn't that God couldn't do it. It wasn't that God wouldn't do it. It was their failure to believe in the promises of God that kept them out of the Promised Land.
So what must you do this week? Believe that God is overturning protocols for me.
