Hey everyone! Welcome to Day Nine.
Can you believe it? Tomorrow is the last day of our fast.
I wanted to spend a couple of moments with you and encourage you with a Scripture that's been on my heart for the last three or four months. God has been opening my mind up to a new understanding of this Scripture. Now, most of us probably recognize it from a King James version of this Scripture.
28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
And when I've always heard that Scripture in the past, I've always thought of the idea that we, we declare something and it makes it come to pass. And there is some truth in that in the fact that there's power in our confession, there's power in our words. As we know, Proverbs says, there is power of life and death in our tongues.
However, just saying things in and of itself may not have as much power as Job is communicating. A better translation can be found in the English Standard Version.
Job 22:28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.
What we learn here is that we can't just say declarations or we can't just pray about them. There has to be a decision made and then that decision requires action. Faith without works is dead. And so whenever you posture yourself in such a way that you decide on a matter that requires action from you, then there's going to be some things that fall into place to support that decisive action..
There's going tp be some actions from the Lord that happen as a result of your step of faith.
When you decide on a matter, the verse says, “it” will be established for you. And so as you take that step forward, after making a heart decision, then it's going to be established for you. There's, there's going to be something put in motion that establishes your way.
Next, once you have made a decision and your way is established (you’re committed to a course of action to back up the decision) THEN light will shine on your ways.
What I have done a lot in my life is waited for light to shine before I took a step, but really, it's the reverse in this situation. We actually have to take a step of faith before light will shine on our ways. And so I want to encourage you today as you're thinking about establishing your faith and expanding territory. It's going to require some action from you. You have to make a decision in your heart. You must decide this is the direction that I'm going and then
commit to action steps to move forward in that direction.
The kingdom is going to back you up as you're doing things for His glory and you're honoring him in the direction that you go. Proverbs says that if you acknowledge him in all your ways, he will direct your path. And so I encourage you today, take steps forward in your faith, make a decision that you're going to honor God with all of your life. Have a great day.
Be Iconic Action Items: Spend some time with God and assess the matters you have been praying about. Are there any concerns that you have that are actually being held up because you won't make a decision? Your action item today is to take a step forward in faith on that issue.