Until the time that His word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him (Psalm 105:19).
The above scripture refers to Joseph having a dream of leading his family and it taking thirteen years for the dream to happen. The time between God speaking and God’s word to Joseph through the dream being fulfilled was a great time of testing. His brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Joseph was unjustly imprisoned, yet he refused to see himself as a victim of circumstance. He chose to keep his focus on what God said to him when he was seventeen years old. The Word God gave him tested him.
The only thing standing between you and God’s promises being fulfilled in your life is time! That’s it! Faith calls those things that be not as though they were. Faith looks not at the things seen, but at the things that are unseen. Seen things are temporary. Unseen things are eternal. Faith is the substance of what we hope for. Faith is the tangibility, the materiality of what we are believing. Faith takes hope, which is in the future, and brings it into the right now! Faith is knowing that something is real even if we do not see it (Hebrews 11:1 – New Century Version)!
Faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). Patience gives you the ability to calmly wait in faith until the manifestation of what you believe comes. Joy is what gives patience its ability to hang in there. Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. Joy comes when you believe that God has answered you, when you know that you know that you know that the promise of God is yours now.
What you do between the time that God promises you something and the actual manifestation of that promise has a lot to do with how long it takes for it to manifest. The best thing to do during this interim time of waiting between the promises and its performance is to praise and thank God for it! Act like it’s already manifested. Speak as though you have the answer. Think as though you have the answer. See the answer with the eye of imagination!
If you do these things, the manifestation will be almost anti-climatic! You’ve been so caught up with the joy of receiving until it is such an expectation that when it does come, there is no surprise. It was yours all the time!
Stand in faith for your healing and act like it’s yours before the symptoms disappear. Act like the financial need is met by praising, thanking, and worshipping the Father before the money is manifested. Act as though the circumstance has changed before it actually changes. See that person in the difficult relationship through the eye of faith. See the end from the beginning!
I waited for about seven years for the manifestation of a new building for Victory Church. That’s a long time. And I did a lot praising, thanking, and reminding the Father of His promises during those seven years. I imagined signing a contract on a piece of property, and us moving our operation to a new place. It happened. I believed I received the necessary finances to seal the deal. It happened! And again, there was a lot of praising, worshipping, and thanking the Father between the time the contract was signed and the finances were there.
We’ve been in our new building now for over seven years this year! Faith brings the manifestation of the promise of God into your life. Add patience to your faith. Walk in joy! Act like God has heard and answered you today! Allow patience to have its perfect work in you.
The only thing standing between you and that need of yours being met is time. God lives in the eternal now. Call the need met now. Believe you receive now. The answer is yours now. The Word of the Lord is testing you. Pass the test of time!
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