I know. I’m late. Life blew up at the end of April, and the fallout has buried me. On the plus side, God is teaching me about faith. Here’s what I’m learning.

1. You either believe what God says—or not. 

God either has sovereignty or not. My faith (or lack of it) will be reflected in my behavior.

“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

I either have God’s favor—or not. My faith (or lack of it) will be reflected in my behavior.

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:2-5

 ^“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

God either loves me—or He does not. My faith (or lack of it) will be reflected in my behavior.

 ^“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

God has sovereignty. God favors you. God loves you.

If He has sovereignty, nothing happens by coincidence. God has allowed it. 

If God has allowed it, He will bring good from it. He allows only those things which accomplish His purposes in your life. Why? Because He loves you and gives you favor.

2. Time with God matters.

Time with God is never wasted. Flesh and the enemy will tell you that you don’t have time for this. The truth? You can’t afford NOT to take time for Him. Make the effort and He will meet you there.

And then, He’ll meet you everywhere else your day takes you. 

Bob Sorge’s The Secrets of the Secret Place focuses on this very topic. 

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35

3. Say “Thank You” before your answer comes.

Do your homework by making sure your prayer lines up with God’s word and His will. Once you’ve identified God’s will and come into agreement with His word, you can pray with boldness and thank Him for the coming answer. 

Or are you praying in a gray area? (For me, healing is a gray area. Sometimes He answers yes, sometimes no.) 

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Romans 8:6 says, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” God is sovereign. He shows me favor. And He loves me. I can trust Him. If I trust Him, my mind, governed by the Holy Spirit, will reflect His life and peace.

Not worry. Not anxiety. Not fear.

Life and peace. His.

If my mind is not marked by life and peace, I need to adjust. Worship, prayer, Scripture, and time with Him, all help. Here are some worship songs that helped my husband and me through our chaos.

“Praise Before My Breakthrough” by Bryan and Katie Torwalt

“Believe for It” by CeCe Winans

“The Blessing” by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Elevation Worship

Hold fast to your faith. Believe what He says. 

P. S. News! I guest-blogged for my critique partner Sally Maheny this month. Here’s the link. Enjoy!