What do you do when you don’t see what you have been believing for?
You just simply … stand. Now don’t dismiss me with, “I’ve tried, and it just didn’t work.” The truth is that you’re bigger than anything that is opposing you!
We don’t sit down, fold our hands and say, “fine!”
We stand.
We stand right in the face of naysayers, mockers and screaming demons, and we stand even in the face of failure. We just simply stand. We stand, and we shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
But how?
How do we stand when everything is saying the opposite of what we believe? I’m glad you asked.
1 John 2:20 says: “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.”
So, if I know all things, why did I not see what I was believing for? If I know all things, then why did I believe in something that wasn’t going to happen?
These are great questions!
The truth is you are spirit, first and foremost! You live in a body, and you possess a soul. Your spirit is the part of you that was instantly saved at the time of your reformation because of the perfect sacrifice of the only begotten of the Father, Jesus! Your spirit has become one with the Spirit of the living God, and in your spirit, you do actually know everything. Your soul, which is made up of your mind, will and emotions, is learning everything. Your body is coming into alignment as your soul prospers.
So, your spirit is saved; your soul is being saved, and your body will be saved!
We are trichotomy beings, and at the same time, we are operating within two completely different worlds—heaven and earth—simultaneously, dealing with two different rules of engagement in each realm. When our souls become more and more like our born again spirits is when this works seamlessly and causes us to walk in greater accuracy.
The process of your soul being saved is by your mind being washed by the water of the incorruptible Word of God. As our minds are being cleansed and recalibrated to the mind of Christ, by the Word of God, our emotions are being trained, and our wills are being fortified! This gives us a prosperous soul, leading to greater levels of victory, according to 3 John 2 (NKJV):
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
You prosper here on earth as your soul (mind, will and emotions) prospers. You may be born again and seated in heavenly places far above all principalities and powers of darkness, but if your soul is not renewed, you will do little for the kingdom of God here on the earth.
Romans 8:28a (MEV) says: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God.”
But many times we don’t finish the Scripture: “to those who are called according to His purpose.”
This is where many of us miss it! We think just because we love God, everything is going to work out. That is just plainly a lie. To maximize our potential, we must finish the rest of Romans 8:28 which says, “to those who are called according to His purpose.”
This gets us to the place called “There.” This is the place of His purpose for our lives. This is the place of obedience! Obedience is your greatest weapon. We want to do what we want, when we want and with who we want and expect everything to go smoothly and live the abundant life. News flash: That does not work in the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is not a democracy. We don’t get to pick and choose everything we want—and not give a second thought about what God wants—and expect God to bail us out when we make a poor decision. Thank God that He is so merciful, but that’s not His best.
It’s like this example: God designed healing because people will need healing, but His best is to come to a place where we are walking in health, not from healing to healing. The fact is we need to be more intimate with the Father and include Him on all the decisions of our lives.
Training for Reigning
We are all on a journey of trust in salvation. We are learning and we are being trained. An archer did not start hitting the bullseye every time. It took training!
Ladies and gentlemen, we are training for reigning, and we are reigning while we are training! One way that we are training is understanding that sometimes we just miss it. Sometimes we think we were right, and it just didn’t happen the way we thought. For those times, just get up, dust yourself off and get back in the game.
But what about the times that you know that you know that something different should have happened and … what in the world happened? When you don’t understand, you must continue to stand! But stand on what?
Stand on a Promise
I’m going to release a kingdom principle that will change your life. This kingdom principle, when applied, will empower you to take more ground and be propelled into greater things than you could have ever imagined. Your mind is about to take a quantum leap into victorious living. This promise is going to renew your mind!
It starts with John 20:24-29 (MEV):
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called The Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail prints in His hands, and put my finger in the nail prints, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe.”
After eight days His disciples were again inside with the doors shut, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand here and place it in My side. Do not be faithless, but believing.”
Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have yet believed.”
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
The background to this passage is that the disciples cannot believe that this has just happened. From the disciples’ perspective, this was never supposed to happen this way. Even though Jesus told them what would happen, it never really settled in. As far as they knew, Jesus was the Messiah, and He was going to return Israel back to its glory days! Jesus wasn’t supposed to die. He was supposed to come in with His tens of thousands of angels and set up the new Jerusalem. He wasn’t supposed to be killed and humiliated on a Roman cross! He was to be the victorious one.
So we see the disciples cowering behind locked doors in great fear of what the Romans are about to do to them. After all, if they could kill Jesus, they could certainly get rid of the disciples easily. So right in the middle of the fear, delusion and doubt, Jesus walks through the obstacles and right through the physical walls to stand in the midst of them and says, “Peace be with you!”
We’ve Been Challenged
In this last year we have been challenged like never before, literally and prophetically. Everything has been tested and retested. We have been coming to grips with what we truly believe, and many have begun a journey back to what matters most and a reacquaintance with His original intent. But many others have almost given up.
Oh, they’re still showing up to work (those who still have jobs). Yes, they’re still showing up at some social functions (when we’ve not been in lockdown). They’ve shown up, but on the inside they’ve given up, and now they’re just surviving.
This is much how Thomas was feeling, just before Jesus enters the picture on the eighth day. I can feel the angst in his soul saying, “I cannot afford to believe again! It’s too costly! I do not have the emotional equity! I’ll sit this one out guys.” Then just at that moment, Jesus shows up on that day … the eighth day. Eight, prophetically speaking, is the number of new beginnings. Coincidence? I don’t think so! Jesus shows up again that day, and that day became a new day. Jesus shows up, not to scold Thomas, but specifically for Thomas!
He Will Show Up for You
Jesus is about to show up in the midst of your shutdown, your letting go and giving up, as He did for Thomas. On this new day, Jesus, again as He did on the first day, walks through all the doubt, unbelief and fear and through the physical walls to stand in their midst and say, “Peace to you!”
The first time, on the first day of His resurrection, Jesus walks through the walls, stands in their midst and says, “Peace be with you.” But this time, on the eighth day, He shows up and says, “Peace to you!” Jesus is more specific toward Thomas. It’s not the same as the first; it is powerful and very specific!
In these times, God is specifically and powerfully speaking to us, the Thomases of this day, “Peace to you!” He is saying this, so you can think clearly again! There is no condemnation in His voice, His gesture or His eyes as He lovingly speaks to Thomas, and there is no condemnation in what He is sharing with you today. He understands it’s been hard, and at the same time, He is asking you yet again to simply believe.
In Part 2 of this article later this week, I reveal the promise we can war with. {eoa}
Barry Maracle is a fourth-generation Spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ, a Mohawk raised on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario, Canada. He now resides with his wife of 28 years, Tammy, in Belleville, Ontario.
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