Elevation Point Church

The voice of fear is loud. The reasons to fear are innumerable. But the reasons to be confident are greater. As children of God, we are called, chosen — and therefore — we can be confident. Don’t give into the hype of fear. Rather, walk in the confidence of one who knows that God has their back.

Walking by faith is often a process. It’s a process filled with overcoming fear, ignoring doubt, and avoid the wrong voices. At times, it seems that such things can hinder the process, or to lead us to doubt what God said — causing us to feel as if we have nothing to believe for. Yet, when it feels like there’s nothing left — it might just mean we’re perfect in the middle of the process. Rather than believing we’re finished, let us find the faith to say, “I’m in process.”

We know that it’s easy to have faith when we can see the fulfillment of what we’re believing for right away. It’s a little more difficult to have faith when we have to remain patient, but it’s possible to remain hopeful with faith in those moments. However, what about the times we hold onto faith and never see the fulfillment? What about the times that we believed and never saw it happen? Are those moments of faith worthless? Did we miss God? Many of us struggle to keep faith the longer we follow Jesus because we’ve been let down one too many times. But what if those times weren’t a letdown? What if the promise we had faith for was never for us to see… but instead for someone else to experience from the benefits of our faith?

We all know that our trust should be in Jesus, but is that where our trust really is? Do we trust in Him, or do we trust in our own ability, talents, finances, gifts? The easiest way to tell where our trust truly lies is by following heart. And you can know where your heart lies by seeing where you invest your time, abilities, talents, finances, and gifts.

It is always good to dream; however, what is a dream without some nightmares, what is sunshine without rain, what is summer without winter. The good life is not obtaining the dream, but it’s the journey in getting to them. Will you trust that God is setting you for up something amazing even though you are experiencing some of the worst times of your life? Or will quit on the journey? God gives the dream, God walks with us on the journey, God fulfills his purpose through us. We must keep our faith and focus on him.

Isolation is an easy trap to fall into. Some are busy, some are private, some are quiet — but all of us are stronger when we go through life together. Alone, we might swerve off path; but together, we help keep each other on course. The truth is, we’re not supposed to handle everything on our own. Yes, the Holy Spirit is there to edify us — but God also gave us one another. When we gather together, we learn together. When we learn together, we grow together. And when we grow together, we overcome together. The enemy leads us to believe we have to be alone when we’re not ok, and that it’s better that way — but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

When we hear “the good life,” what do we think of? It’s almost a guarantee that our first thought isn’t “when we lose something.” Most thoughts of “the good life” center on things being added to our lives. Blessings, finances, people, desires. And while those things are not bad, they also do not define “the good life.” In Christ, “the good life” is found in what we lose — in what we lay down. Once we lay down our desires, once we lose our preferences, we are able to enjoy the true fulfillment of a Christ-centered “good life.”

We all have a Saul in our lives. Someone who seemingly made it their mission to hold us back. To rob us of God’s plan for us. And if we’re honest, it’s hard for us to imagine mourning when that person(s) is no longer in our lives. For David, his identity in the Lord was so locked down, and he was so secure, that he wanted to show KINDNESS to Saul. He wanted to show kindness to the one who had made his life miserable for years! We often think we’ve forgiven and overcome bitterness; but the best way to see if we’ve truly canceled bitterness is to show kindness to those who we once were bitter towards.

We’ve all messed up. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all lived through moments we’re not proud of. The problem, however, is not what we’ve done — it’s who we begin to see ourselves as because of it. Shame is a powerful tool that leads us to believe we’re worthless and finished. Every time we try to take a step forward, we’re reminded of the time we tripped. Every time we try to begin again, we’re reminded of the time we stopped. Whenever we allow those thoughts to flood our minds and stop us, we’ve chosen to listen to the wrong voice(s). God’s voice is a voice of grace, not disgrace. It’s a voice of vindication, not of shame.