At What Point should you give up?

[keita]

These all died in faith, not having received the promises... (Hebrews 11:13)

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise... (Hebrews 11:39)


Hmmmmmm......

[Jasmine]

Nov 24, 2008 9:08:35 GMT -5 Poetricia (G.A.P.) said:

Vin I feel your hurt and parts of what you have shared in your recent posts remind me of Kitty awhile back when she was saying she too was "through" with praying and waiting and believing and having faith in what she sincerely believed God told her would come to pass.

Then Jasmine asks the question "with all the single women desiring husbands, and all the married women desiring babies, where does God get the glory in that?"

My sisters, I have been where you are in one way or another and I tell you God gets the glory when we are hurt, burdened, broken, lost, confused, DEVESTATED and yet, we PRAISE HIM AS IF HE HAS ALREADY GIVEN US WHAT WE WANT whether or not we ever receive it.

We've got to be like those Hebrew boys "we know that he can, but EVEN IF HE DOESN'T - we won't bow down!!!"

I remember being devestated in the aftermath of a certain thing and I said "Lord, show me where I went wrong, show me where I may have gotten it wrong, show me where it was you and then it wasn't you it was just me" and he did just that. It was a hard thing to do, but I went back through my journey at every point and He showed me what I wanted to know. AND I PRAISE HIM. I wondered why in the world couldn't he have stopped me at this point or that and just told me then, but there was something he wanted me to learn about myself, to know about him, and to understand about the enemy. I DIDN'T LIKE IT but I (eventually) UNDERSTOOD it.

I feel like I'm babbling so I'll stop here, I hope this makes sense to someone else besides me.

Also, I agree 100% with Giants in the time issue.

Hi, that was actually LANL who asked the question...This is my first response.

[giantsdodie]

Nov 25, 2008 0:37:45 GMT -5 keita said:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises... (Hebrews 11:13)

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise... (Hebrews 11:39)


Hmmmmmm......

That is a whole other lesson in faith...

And it is correct Abraham never saw the complete fulfilled promise of God manifested in his life.

The Amplified Bible

13 These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of [God's] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that they were strangers and temporary residents and exiles upon the earth.

Genesis 17

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.


Abraham never saw his seed become a nation in his lifetime. He never saw any of his seed become King. He never saw the land of Canaan become the land of his people, that didnt happen until 400 years later....

But He BELIEVED GOD.. HE died in FAITH believing GOD for it... and it DID come to pass..

There are things that GOD has spoken to me that I know I will not complete in my lifetime. They are for my sons ( which I dont have yet ) to complete.

However we have to know whether GOD is speaking directly or generationally...

AND we are required to have FAITH either way.


EDITED as new thoughts came in....

[Nikkol]

Good advice, GIANTS.....

[anointed]

To add, along with those verses Keita I think faith isn't just about our prosperity (what we want God to do for "me") but our posterity (what God wants to accomplish generationally that outlives ones lifetime).

[giantsdodie]

Vin



Let me share something with you from a few years ago..

I have been waiting for something to come to pass for quite some time now. Over ten years, Ive lost count as to exactly how long.

I was talking to the Lord and I was saying Lord I am waiting on you but I am getting tired and frustrated.

The Lord saidm because you arent waiting on me... I was like HUH.. I am waiting on you... ( like as if GOD could be wrong LOL )

He said NO you are waiting on the promise. You arent waiting on me. The fact that you are getting tired and frustrated is proof that you are not waiting on me.

MY WORD says

Isaiah 40

31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

if your weary and tired and frustrated and ready to faint. Its because you are not waiting on ME.

HE said what you are doing is waiting on the PROMISE but the PROMISE has no ability to sustain you or support you. It can inspire you and give you hope, but it cannot SUSTAIN you.. That is reserved for me...you LIFE is hid with CHRIST in GOD.. You must ABIDE in the vine...

I AM the way the truth and THE LIFE... I CAME that you might have LIFE and that more abudnantly.. not the promise...

I think we place to many expectations on the promise.

[Poetricia (G.A.P.)]

Nov 24, 2008 15:34:12 GMT -5 giantsdodie said:

Nov 24, 2008 13:49:08 GMT -5 Poetricia (G.A.P.) said:

The very fact that you have FAITH for a thing is the ASSURANCE that the thing is YOURS. YOUR FAITH is the actual evidence that it belongs to YOU.

My brother Giants, this line can be particularly dangerous in a discussion about singles and husbands.



But seriously I think this has the potential to be misleading because it takes God's will and seeking God for his will out of the equation and is based soley on our faith.

I disagree and I will tell you why... and maybe I should have been more explanatory...

I should have mentioned what is the foundation for faith. The foundation for faith is the WORD OF GOD...

You need to have GOD word on a issue before you can stand in FAITH for an issue.

I had no issue believing GOD for a spouse because GOD told me clearly you will have a WIFE and three children...

God also gave me some specifics regarding that. He said like Adam and Issac he would BRING ME my wife...

People kept asking me.. why arent you dating.. you know the Bible says a man that finds a wife finds a good thing...

I said I dont have to look for a wife.. God said HE WOULD bring me my wife like He did for Adam and Jacob..

Thats what my faith was grounded in.. It was grounded in what GOD SAID...

And that is EXACTLY what GOD did.. He brought my wife directly into my path.. HE revealed to me who she was...

There is NO FAITH without GOD's WILL...

The scripture says that JESUS is the AUTHOR and the FINISHER of our faith..

Thats why I say a lot of the stuff we call faith AINT faith...

A lot of it is wishful thinking.

I can sit here and say..

Im gonna believe God for a Pony... ( i know sounds slilly but work with me )

and I am gonna have faith that if I believe long enough and hard enough that God will bring me a pony....

But thats NOT FAITH...

Faith is based on THE WORD OF GOD.. I have NO word from GOD about a pony.. so GOD is not obligated to answer that " faith "

Second example.. this is a true one..

I am believing GOD for a house one day. I am believe GOD for a house based on HIS word.

Isaiah 65

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.

I am called to be a POSSESSOR of the land ( not RENTOR of the Land )


Genesis 17
7A nd I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generation.

Now I received some prophetic words from the Lord about having a house...

I was looking around at houses and areas for houses etc etc and I was looking at an area in NY called Peekskill. As I was looking I was saying yeah that clooks good.. I could do that.. I could afford that....

Then I got a word from the Lord that MY HOUSE is in a place called TARRYTOWN.. Tarrytown is one of the most expensive neighboorhoods. The taxes alone are unreal. I said Lord I cant do that.. I cant afford that...

He said.. GOOD... Thats EXACTLY where I want you.. someplace YOU cant afford.. in a place you know YOU cant do it..

HE said I have a miracle there for you.. He gave me the structure of the house.. how many bedrooms how many baths, even told me it was a two family dwelling that was converted into a single family dwelling...

Now why am I saying that...

I cant believe for a house in Peekskill any longer.. MY FAITH is for a house in TARRYTOWN because that is what THE LORD SAID...

Thats why I tell saints get clarity on what the Lord is SAYING then you can have FAITH for that.. because GOD doesnt send faith to places HIS WORD does not go...

God created the enture universe by faith.. YET when he was ready to create HE SPOKE...

LET THERE BE LIGHT...

and There WAS Light...

The difference between us and nature is nature RESPONDS to God voice WITHOUT hesitation or reservation...

WE oftentimes do not...

I dont have a house in Tarrytown yet.. but ask my wife what happens everytime we drive past it going to the mall...

This is where GOD said we would have a house....

I dont look at houses in ANY OTHER TOWN. I dont even look at Sleepy Hollow, Greenburg, Nyack or NORTH Tarrytown which are the towns connected to it less than a mile away...

I only look where the Lord SAID... Tarrytown...

And I already have the TITLE DEED for the house because I have the faith for it because GOD who is the AUTHOR of the faith.. SPOKE IT...

Thank you so much for this post Giants, I have gained a much clearer understanding of where you are coming from and not that it matters much, but I AGREE 100% !!!!

[Poetricia (G.A.P.)]

Nov 25, 2008 9:26:19 GMT -5 giantsdodie said:

Vin

I AM the way the truth and THE LIFE... I CAME that you might have LIFE and that more abudnantly.. not the promise...

I think we place to many expectations on the promise.

WOW What a word from the Lord,
He told me in relation to my waiting that I am waiting on him not on a husband - He also told me that he wants to know that I want HIM more than what I'm asking him for.

WHEW.......

So many lessons.

I'm reminded of an old Andre Crouch song
"I THANK him for the mountains
and I THANK him for the valleys
and I THANK him for the storms
he brought me through
For if I never had a problem
I'd never know that God could solve them
I'd never know what faith '
IN HIS WORD can do
That the reason I say that
through it all
through it all
I've learned to trust in Jesus
I've learned to trust in God
through it all
through it all
I've learned to depend upon

[vin]

Nov 25, 2008 9:26:19 GMT -5 giantsdodie said:

Vin



Let me share something with you from a few years ago..

I have been waiting for something to come to pass for quite some time now. Over ten years, Ive lost count as to exactly how long.

I was talking to the Lord and I was saying Lord I am waiting on you but I am getting tired and frustrated.

The Lord said because you aren't waiting on me... I was like HUH.. I am waiting on you... ( like as if GOD could be wrong LOL )

He said NO you are waiting on the promise. You arent waiting on me. The fact that you are getting tired and frustrated is proof that you are not waiting on me.

MY WORD says

Isaiah 40

31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

if your weary and tired and frustrated and ready to faint. Its because you are not waiting on ME.

HE said what you are doing is waiting on the PROMISE but the PROMISE has no ability to sustain you or support you. It can inspire you and give you hope, but it cannot SUSTAIN you.. That is reserved for me...you LIFE is hid with CHRIST in GOD.. You must ABIDE in the vine...

I AM the way the truth and THE LIFE... I CAME that you might have LIFE and that more abudnantly.. not the promise...

I think we place to many expectations on the promise.

You're right. That's what I've been doing....focusing on the promise instead of He who promised. And it has worn me out.
I've been trying to find an easier way to trust and have faith.