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Post by livinganewlife on Nov 19, 2008 17:25:57 GMT -5
Hi guys,
I have a question and this is regarding faith……
In our faith walk are there times that we should release our faith regarding certain situations…….
At what point do we release our faith (belief that God is going to work out/in/or on behalf of our situation…….
If I am believing God for a child and yet to get pregnant but I am approaching my 45th birthday…..do I give up on ever having children? Is that faith?
What if I am believing God to sanctify my husband….he is still drinking after 15 years of marriage….I am miserable all we do is fight but I am holding on and pressing on in prayer because God told me and it was confirmed to me over and over again that the Lord was going to save my husband……..I don’t see any changes……
What if I desire a husband and my boyfriend is cutting up sideways….but the Lord told me he was the one and I prayed for him, travailed for him and press in for him every night…it’s been 5 years and I ain’t seen no changes as a matted of fact he is acting worse………….
What if I am sick and the Lord said he was going to heal me…the prophets prayed over me; dripping in blessed oil and it has been confirmed over and over again that my healing is on the way……I pray and press in every night…and for the last two years I have been in the hospital over 60 times……each time getting worse and worse…..
All of the above situations have truths to them; but should we as believers sacrifice our lives and stop enjoying “our present life” based on the belief that God is going to move in our situation if we just hang on a little longer…………..…….
At what point should we give up cetain situatiosn we have faith for....………….and does God ever really release us from having faith………….
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Post by Poetricia (G.A.P.) on Nov 19, 2008 17:48:55 GMT -5
living, i want so badly to take my time and respond but i'm about to sign off for the evening.
my short answer to the post title 'at what point should we give up' and your question at the end of your post 'at what point should we give up certain situations we have faith for' is this:
it really does depend on the specifics, but bottom line - not until God says for you to give up.
i will be back in the am to share more.
be blessed and HOLD ON TO YOUR FAITH.
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Post by kitty on Nov 19, 2008 18:20:22 GMT -5
Hey Living,
I think the answer to your question is very complicated....
Ultimately I think a person has to apply wisdom and common sense as well as faith...
In a lot of cases people's hearts are deceiving... I find that to be the case in the "boyfriend" husband issues... If God has promised one a husband then He promised them a husband. The problem comes when we get to hung up on WHO... That should happen until vows have been exhanged...
But ultimately... if a man is acting up, is not treat you well and it been five years... Then why are we claiming that this is the one God sent? Move on to the next! If it is God then He will bring this person back into your life... The person is NOT your husband yet so why be torn for so long over it...
Yes I know what God can do... Yes God can surprise us... But the truth is that I have just seen way tooooo Many of the cases turn out differently. The woman is wasting years on her life because she didn't use commons sense. And in a lot of cases I doubt they really heard from God... like I said again a deceiving heart or even a lying spirit. After all the devil can and will use your faith against you!
In the case with the woman who wants a child... Now this is a situation in which I believe a person should hold on to their faith no matter how long it takes... Keep the faith and hope doesn't have a negative effect on her life... especially if she is married. But I think the person should do as much as then can in terms of having kids because faith without work is dead... Plus I think they should also develop their love for children in general.
I have seen a lot of cases where couples had given up on having their own children and decided to adopt... Then right after the adoption end up having a child... So who knows...
I believe the same about healing... I think it is best to hold on to the faith no matter how much time is passing....
Bottom line... I think we need to apply wisdom and commone sense to the things we are believing God for....
But ultimately never a good idea to hold on for years when it comes to the actions of other people... especially if that person isn't already your husband or your child....
Kitty
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Post by giantsdodie on Nov 19, 2008 18:57:44 GMT -5
My first question when it comes to faith is this. Is the foundation of what you are believing based on something that GOD said. While I understand what Kitty has said, sometimes common sense and mans wisdom complete opposes what GOD has said... Example 90 years old and having a baby  ? Common sense says no way. Man's wisdom says impossible... but what did GOD say |
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Post by Poetricia (G.A.P.) on Nov 20, 2008 7:49:57 GMT -5
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Post by Poetricia (G.A.P.) on Nov 20, 2008 8:42:40 GMT -5
Living, many times I have asked myself the same question: At what point should I give up?
I've been reunited with Christ now for 18 years. God has promised me a husband several times in several ways directly and through the word of knowledge, wisdom and prophecy of others beginning in 1988. Three times in 18 years I asked myself "At what point should I give up?
The first guy I admired from afar for years, naming and claiming and declaring "God told me he's the one" cause that's what I honestly believed I heard the Lord tell me on two different occasions plus the many "confirmations" that occured that I now see were just coincidences. We were co-laborers in the kingdom, working on several ministries together, but honestly, we weren't even friends. This guy is now married to someone else. I continued to believe God for a husband.
The second guy I dated for 3 years, thinking he was sure nuff the one. He spoke of loving me and wanting to marry me but never wanted to actually make a committment. I finally ended it and he is now married to someone else. This was when I began to wonder if I should just give up on this promise, but I continued to believe God for a husband.
The third guy professed his love and adoration for me for a solid year. We've been very close friends for more than two years but we never actually dated. I just KNEW he was the one. But he has chosen another and right now is preparing to settle down with her. I cannot explain to you the depth of the hurt I felt and still feel with this situation. Talk about feeling like God owes me an explanation??? HAH!!! I tell you I was absolutely positively ready to give up, give over, and give in !!!!
That's three times in 18 years I thought God's promise was about to be fulfilled. Three times in 18 years I thought my blessing had finally arrived. And three times in 18 years my heart was crushed, broken, and in need of healing, deliverance and restoration. At 45 many would tell me to give up the ghost, be content in singlehood, forget about that promise, look at everything else God has done for me and be happy with that. These are things people have actually said to me mind you.
In each situation, there came a point when I had to actually give up on THE SITUATION. But, at what point should I give up ON GOD? NEVER. In all this, I CONTINUE TO BELIEVE GOD.
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Post by livinganewlife on Nov 20, 2008 10:04:08 GMT -5
Hey Living, I think the answer to your question is very complicated.... Ultimately I think a person has to apply wisdom and common sense as well as faith... In a lot of cases people's hearts are deceiving... I find that to be the case in the "boyfriend" husband issues... If God has promised one a husband then He promised them a husband. The problem comes when we get to hung up on WHO... That should happen until vows have been exhanged... But ultimately... if a man is acting up, is not treat you well and it been five years... Then why are we claiming that this is the one God sent? Move on to the next! If it is God then He will bring this person back into your life... The person is NOT your husband yet so why be torn for so long over it... Yes I know what God can do... Yes God can surprise us... But the truth is that I have just seen way tooooo Many of the cases turn out differently. The woman is wasting years on her life because she didn't use commons sense. And in a lot of cases I doubt they really heard from God... like I said again a deceiving heart or even a lying spirit. After all the devil can and will use your faith against you! In the case with the woman who wants a child... Now this is a situation in which I believe a person should hold on to their faith no matter how long it takes... Keep the faith and hope doesn't have a negative effect on her life... especially if she is married. But I think the person should do as much as then can in terms of having kids because faith without work is dead... Plus I think they should also develop their love for children in general. I have seen a lot of cases where couples had given up on having their own children and decided to adopt... Then right after the adoption end up having a child... So who knows... I believe the same about healing... I think it is best to hold on to the faith no matter how much time is passing.... Bottom line... I think we need to apply wisdom and commone sense to the things we are believing God for.... But ultimately never a good idea to hold on for years when it comes to the actions of other people... especially if that person isn't already your husband or your child.... Kitty I am using Kitty's quote because the totality of her post is exactly where I was hoping this thread would lead…..so anyone please feel free to respond to my post below……. Are there different levels of faith or different applications of Faith based upon the situation…as in Kitty’s post she mentioned to apply common sense when it came to believing God for a mate because the promise is based upon someone else’s actions and not God’s promise or “word” to you………
Which would mean that if the situation is personal (an attack that directly affects you only i.e. illness, financial problems, etc...) than one should keep the faith however if you are believing God for the salvation, healing and deliverance of another person than you should apply faith and basic wisdom……. if your breakthrough is dependent upon God moving on another person than you should apply wisdom and faith?
If that is the case than really what is faith? Is faith based upon what we see…and as Brother Giants said sometimes God plans outweigh (and in most cases God plans are not always) common sense…..
Because common sense would tell me that it makes no sense that I must die first in order to gain but yet our whole Christian experience is based on speculative / ideological thinking……
So again what determines when or how we give up on a situation? and is it Faith if we give up? |
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Post by giantsdodie on Nov 20, 2008 10:53:37 GMT -5
I think we need to start this discussion ( which I think is a very good one ) based on this point.
WHAT IS FAITH ??
A lot of the thing we call faith I have found are often not faith.
Sometimes its wishful thinking, sometimes its misdirected belief, sometimes its false hope, sometimes its self deception, sometimes its believing the counsel of ones own heart. and sometimes its believing the decption of the devil.
Everything we believe isnt necessarily faith so I believe thats where we have to start, determining exactly what is faith.
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Post by vin on Nov 20, 2008 12:28:37 GMT -5
My experience with giving on on having children was like this: I became sexually active at 16, never used birth control, never got pregnant, and never thought, why am I not pregnant?
I got married and told God that I wanted Him to show people that He could be my birth control. So I asked Him to not let me get pregnant for nine months so EVERYBODY would know that He is all the birth control I needed.
Well nine months turned into year after year until lo and behold 12 years later I was heartbroken and asking God why He didn't think I was good enough to have children. Every month I felt like I was having a miscarriage. Emotionally I miscarried every month with the start of my flow because every month I hoped this was it. I had test after test that all came back normal, no reason I shouldn't be pregnant. So I thought at 12 years that I would be like the woman with the issue of blood. Okay so I'll get pregnant this 12th year. People had dreams, I had dreams of babies with no faces but I knew they were mine. I had dreams of going into a hospital room in labor and coming out with a baby.
Then after the 12 year I just figured that Okay, I can't have kids, so I'll just enjoy all the benefits of NOT having them. That lasted for aboutu a year. But then I began to feel that I wanted to be responsible for someone other than my husband, who I was growing sick of. And I thought, if I want to be a mama then I'm SOMEBODY'S mama. I may not have my own but somewhere there's a baby out there who needs me to be mama to them. I just needed God to bring me and that baby together. About a year later a family member lost her baby. I got her and a year later I was pregnant. So now I'm a single mom of my adopted miracle and my birth miracle.
But I gave up on children. I gave up. I had to. It was killing me. The heartache was too much. God asked me to give them up becasue the weight of my unborn children on my heart was too heavy and He asked me to give Him my babies. I finally gave them to Him and had to trust Him with them. Then He gave them back to me. But I had to give them up first.
Our desires are too much for us. When you have a desire in your heart that comes from God it's too big for your emotions. Your little heart will break. A God desire is bigger than a human desire. You can't shake a God desire. But at the same time, it will kill you if you try to carry it. You have to learn to release it.
I'm learning this the hard way for the SECOND time.
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Post by vin on Nov 20, 2008 12:30:06 GMT -5
I'll share something else later.
You know. There are times when coming to this board is like coming to church. It's a blessing. Like testimony and sharing night.
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Post by livinganewlife on Nov 20, 2008 16:15:07 GMT -5
My experience with giving on on having children was like this: I became sexually active at 16, never used birth control, never got pregnant, and never thought, why am I not pregnant? I got married and told God that I wanted Him to show people that He could be my birth control. So I asked Him to not let me get pregnant for nine months so EVERYBODY would know that He is all the birth control I needed. Well nine months turned into year after year until lo and behold 12 years later I was heartbroken and asking God why He didn't think I was good enough to have children. Every month I felt like I was having a miscarriage. Emotionally I miscarried every month with the start of my flow because every month I hoped this was it. I had test after test that all came back normal, no reason I shouldn't be pregnant. So I thought at 12 years that I would be like the woman with the issue of blood. Okay so I'll get pregnant this 12th year. People had dreams, I had dreams of babies with no faces but I knew they were mine. I had dreams of going into a hospital room in labor and coming out with a baby. Then after the 12 year I just figured that Okay, I can't have kids, so I'll just enjoy all the benefits of NOT having them. That lasted for aboutu a year. But then I began to feel that I wanted to be responsible for someone other than my husband, who I was growing sick of. And I thought, if I want to be a mama then I'm SOMEBODY'S mama. I may not have my own but somewhere there's a baby out there who needs me to be mama to them. I just needed God to bring me and that baby together. About a year later a family member lost her baby. I got her and a year later I was pregnant. So now I'm a single mom of my adopted miracle and my birth miracle. But I gave up on children. I gave up. I had to. It was killing me. The heartache was too much. God asked me to give them up becasue the weight of my unborn children on my heart was too heavy and He asked me to give Him my babies. I finally gave them to Him and had to trust Him with them. Then He gave them back to me. But I had to give them up first. Our desires are too much for us. When you have a desire in your heart that comes from God it's too big for your emotions. Your little heart will break. A God desire is bigger than a human desire. You can't shake a God desire. But at the same time, it will kill you if you try to carry it. You have to learn to release it. I'm learning this the hard way for the SECOND time. WOW that was powerful............. i really needed to hear that...........GEEZ.......... This part of the post just ministered right to me: When you have a desire in your heart that comes from God it's too big for your emotions. Your little heart will break. A God desire is bigger than a human desire. You can't shake a God desire. But at the same time, it will kill you if you try to carry it. You have to learn to release it. that is powerful....... |
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Post by livinganewlife on Nov 20, 2008 16:16:08 GMT -5
I'll share something else later. You know. There are times when coming to this board is like coming to church. It's a blessing. Like testimony and sharing night. |
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Post by anointedteacher on Nov 20, 2008 19:42:20 GMT -5
I wonder if leaving those things you have been believing God for alone, mean giviing up... I have stop praying for certain things and stop dwelling on it....
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Post by giantsdodie on Nov 20, 2008 19:59:20 GMT -5
I still think we need a clear definition of what is faith to enhance the dialogue.
Also it seems to me we connecting faith to the dispensation we know as TIME... and TIME is a whole different matter.
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Post by true on Nov 20, 2008 22:19:55 GMT -5
My experience with giving on on having children was like this: I became sexually active at 16, never used birth control, never got pregnant, and never thought, why am I not pregnant? I got married and told God that I wanted Him to show people that He could be my birth control. So I asked Him to not let me get pregnant for nine months so EVERYBODY would know that He is all the birth control I needed. Well nine months turned into year after year until lo and behold 12 years later I was heartbroken and asking God why He didn't think I was good enough to have children. Every month I felt like I was having a miscarriage. Emotionally I miscarried every month with the start of my flow because every month I hoped this was it. I had test after test that all came back normal, no reason I shouldn't be pregnant. So I thought at 12 years that I would be like the woman with the issue of blood. Okay so I'll get pregnant this 12th year. People had dreams, I had dreams of babies with no faces but I knew they were mine. I had dreams of going into a hospital room in labor and coming out with a baby. Then after the 12 year I just figured that Okay, I can't have kids, so I'll just enjoy all the benefits of NOT having them. That lasted for aboutu a year. But then I began to feel that I wanted to be responsible for someone other than my husband, who I was growing sick of. And I thought, if I want to be a mama then I'm SOMEBODY'S mama. I may not have my own but somewhere there's a baby out there who needs me to be mama to them. I just needed God to bring me and that baby together. About a year later a family member lost her baby. I got her and a year later I was pregnant. So now I'm a single mom of my adopted miracle and my birth miracle. But I gave up on children. I gave up. I had to. It was killing me. The heartache was too much. God asked me to give them up becasue the weight of my unborn children on my heart was too heavy and He asked me to give Him my babies. I finally gave them to Him and had to trust Him with them. Then He gave them back to me. But I had to give them up first. Our desires are too much for us. When you have a desire in your heart that comes from God it's too big for your emotions. Your little heart will break. A God desire is bigger than a human desire. You can't shake a God desire. But at the same time, it will kill you if you try to carry it. You have to learn to release it. I'm learning this the hard way for the SECOND time. I wasn't going to comment in this thread but this post was wonderful. I love what you said here  |
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? Common sense says no way. Man's wisdom says impossible... but what did GOD say 