The Measure of Your Faith

Is the measure of your faith determined by great exploits?  Is our faith determined by how long we can wait or how spiritual we are in defeat?  How does one measure one's own faith?  How large or how much faith do you have?  Jesus said to each is given a measure of faith, but He does not say what the measure is.  Faith can be as small as a mustard seed; yet, it can move literal mountains.  But, we should grow in faith and our faith should know no depth or height because we should be able to believe for the impossible.  Still, the question remains.  How do we measure our faith?  I submit our faith is at different points in our journey.  For the journey is not easy.  It is full of obstacles and full of circling.  Sometimes we have to cross the same river, walk through the same valley, climb the same mountain, believe for the same deliverance.  But, is it really the same?  It feels the same, it looks the same, all around me says its the same, but something is different.  It doesn't smell the same.  How can that be?  Because this time you smell the aroma, the incense of worship.  My faith is not measured by how much I say or praise but it is dependent upon my worship.  Worship is deeper than an emotion.  Worship is higher than just an encounter or an experience.  Worship is wider than our circumstances.  Worship is all of this and more for it reaches into your soul.  It is all of who you are making a decision to press into the presence of Yahweh and being able to bless Him and thank Him for your trial.

The Anointing of Suffering

The word of God says we are to rejoice in our sufferings.  We are to deem it a privilege to suffer as our Lord Jesus suffered.  We are to walk in the fellowship of His suffering. "...for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering...Philippians 3:10 nasb" Maturity is measured by your ability to walk through the concrete places with your hands lifted high and your mouth full of praise for the one you love most.  Can you believe and trust that light will come from absolute darkness?  The measure of your faith must exceed the measure of your doubt.  Your measure of faith grows only in the dark.  It can only be seen by the illumination of God's power and might through you.  It can only grow in your dark, silent, tight secret and frightful place.  When you are NOT seen, then He IS seen through you and in you.  But, one thing that cannot be mistaken is the aroma left on your life.  Like a person experiencing second-hand smoke from a dedicated nicotine fiend, so is the thick smoke that is left from the presence of the King.  Your clothes, your hair, your skin, your breath smells like Him.  For, the deeper the hole, the tighter the fit, the darker the dark and the lonelier the time, the greater the worship.  The greater the worship, the greater your faith grows!

Indoctrination into the End Time Army

How does someone in the military increase in rank?  The person in battle shines the brightest.  He gains rank faster and greater than those not in battle.  For the one in battle that fights and braves the circumstances and the enemy and can still fight some more is the one that is worthy of praise.  So, Christian soldier, your measure of faith is determined on your knees crawling when you feel as if you can't stand up.  The measure of your faith is determined with your hands lifted high when you feel the lowest.  The measure of your faith is when you praise and press; when you have been counted out of the game and the battle all together.  The measure of your faith is your worship meter.  Though he slay me; yet, I will praise with all that is within me.

 "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? *Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.  Psalm 43:5 nasb"

 

 

The Press

How I love you Lord.  How I long to live in your presence, but sometimes it is so hard.  There are days when I feel you so near; yet, there are days when you seem so far away.  I can't touch you or feel your love.  I feel abandoned.  I know these are the times when you are looking to see me press.  I know some days we don't feel saved.  Some days the weights are about our neck, legs and arms.  In your word Jesus says to take his yoke upon us for his burden is light and the yoke is easy.  But, it is in the press that I must reach out into the darkness to grasp your lifeline.  You promised to be with me, you promised to uphold me, you promised to never leave nor forsake me.  So, I must trust you Lord when it seems so futile.  I must believe although my flesh hurts and my heart aches.  I must grasp hold of the horns of the altar and press.  I must press into destiny and purpose.  I must press and allow the weight of your glory to consume me and to break me.  Break me Lord.  Crush me Lord.  Cause me to be still and allow you to pour me out as a drink offering fit to bring you glory.  Cause me to allow others to see me press even when I don't feel like it and it hurts.  Cause me to be a witness to the faithfulness, mercy and love of Yeshua.  So, I will press.  I will press in the hard times.  I will press and reach for destiny.  I reach out to you and I forget the things of the past and press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.  I will press on my knees.  I will press with my plate turned down.  I will press with my hands lifted toward heaven and my eyes on you oh God.  I will press.  I will press.  I will press.  I will press until deliverance comes.  I declare your righteousness in the earth and I declare your glory in my life!  I press!

 

Shift

Shift, to move from one place, position, direction, etc., to another. (Dictionary.com) I hear a sound.  It is like shh.  Hear it?  Something is moving in your life.  Problems are still there, but I hear shh.  I find myself praising more, it's a shh.  There it goes again.  Frustration still there but, shh.  Sometimes depression shows up and chaos is all around.  I feel alone, but I keep hearing shh.  There is a shift.  I keep bowing, I keep lifting hands, I keep crying but something is different this time.  I hear shift.  Instead of feeling drained and tired, I feel energized because there is a shift.  It is not as hard as before.  Trouble does not hurt as bad.  There is a shift.  I bow, I lift holy hands, I need more of you.  There is a hunger in my heart and a burning passion.  There is a shift.  Worship, worship is more passionate, more desperate and I feel compelled to just glorify your name.  I'm afraid of tomorrow, but not as much.  There is a shift.  I am learning to trust you more.  The clouds are starting to part.  Shift, shift, shift in the atmosphere.  Deliverance is near.  Rest is near.  Peace is at hand, because there is a shift in the atmosphere.  So, I will bow.  I will bow to your will.  I can stand confident in your grace, in your love, your mercy and your peace.  I am a conqueror.  I am a worshipper.  I declare that there is a shift, a shift in the atmosphere.  Hope has been deferred and I have cried so long for change.  It seemed to never come, but there is a breaking, there is a shift in the atmosphere.  Thank you Lord for pouring out your presence over me.  There is still so much I don't understand, but I realize that with every trial, every concern, every disappointment, there comes a shift.  I am moving from my old place to a new place in you.  My old home was built out of fear and uncertainty.  This new home is built upon trust, compassion, love and your grace with a foundation laid in worship.  For each time I bow to adversity and allow the aroma of anointing to come forth, it causes a shift in the atmosphere and a passion to ignite in my heart and soul!  I need you more and cannot have enough of you.  So, I hear shift.  There is a shift in the atmosphere.  Shift, shift, shift in the atmosphere.  Shift in my life, Shift in my heart, shift in my circumstances, shift in God!  Shift...