One of the real challenges that stands as a mountain before a person is the delay of their dreams. It is difficult for people to deal with time, they expect solutions instantly. They want it now, not five minutes from now!
This time expectation is most acute and unique to American society. They are inventors of fast food because it is believed that fast is always better! Now, let me help you understand time. God has no time frame that controls Him. The whole spectrum of time is always laid before Him, so He does not experience time as a limiter.
Faith is what He has given us to enter into the reality that He lives in.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is the quality of a human being that allows us to see and be happy about our answer now. We are not waiting for the physical manifestation to be happy or fulfilled or confident. We enjoy what we believe as if we had the things we believe for already in our possession. What does this do for us?
It puts ETERNITY INTO OUR HEART!
What we have received as our inheritance from God is now ours. Get happy about it and you will see it!
Scripture: Hebrews 11:1
Perhaps today, you are experiencing grief or a sense of loss; I want you to know that God is right there with you! My father and I were very close, and throughout my life he was a voice of wisdom and clarity. I remember him telling me after many years of suffering from debilitating illness, that he was tired and ready to go on to the next life. He had called every family member, making sure that each knew Jesus as their personal Savior. He felt my mother would be ok and could take care of herself. I remember thinking how odd it was that he was telling me all of this. My father passed away just a few days later.
I don’t know what you are walking through right now, but I do know there is one who will walk with you and give you the hope you need. The scriptures say, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I also recall many weeks later, God opened heaven and I had an awareness of my father smiling and a knowledge that he was in a much better place. As I spoke to the audience that day, I remember crying great tears of God’s love for the people who were listening…for them to know that they could face anything in life, and even death, if they had a hope in the future!
Have you ever felt discouraged? Have you ever felt unsure of what to do? Are there times you just feel like giving up? Like you’re being thrown into the fire with nowhere to run and no escape?
One of the great stories of scripture talks about three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were thrown into a fire for refusing to worship the King’s idols. These three men had been honored and promoted as wise sages throughout Babylonia. Learning of their refusal to bow to his idols, the king offered them a second chance. Again they refused, this time saying, “even if we are thrown into your blazing furnace, oh King, the God we serve will deliver us from your Majesty’s hand.”
Infuriated by their response, the king had the execution fire built 7 times hotter – so hot that as the soldiers approached the furnace to throw in the three bound men, they themselves were burned to death. As the King stared into the furnace, he suddenly shouted – there are four men in the fire, not three – and the fourth looks like an angel of God. At that moment, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked from the fire unharmed and without even the smell of smoke on their clothing!
I believe HOPE is a supernatural God-given empowerment. Hope is not just a good feeling; it is a force that produces strength for the journey. You are possibly facing your own fiery challenge or affliction. Hope allows you to turn your trials into smiles.
For nearly a year, Magda Herzberger struggled to survive the daily terrors and psychological torture in three of Adolph Hitler’s concentration camps. According to the Grand Canyon University interview, though forced to “gather corpses,” she resisted the draw of suicide, and relied on God for the hope to outlive the Nazi death machine.
Growing up in the home of a respected international businessman, Magda was exposed to music, sports and languages, learning German, French, and Latin. She was cultivating her dream to go to medical school when the Nazis swept across Romania.
She vividly recalls the day the Hungarian Secret Police knocked at the door and began collecting families at gunpoint. As her family was being trucked away, her father arrived home and willingly joined them. She remembers her father’s warm tears falling on her head, as they were being transported to Aushwitz-Birkenau. She can still hear the dreadful cries and hopeless whispers of strangers packed into train cars without food or even a toilet for the terrifying journey.
Magda said, “Regardless of what I experienced in those camps, and all those terrible things, I’m still a loving and forgiving person.” I would ask, how can it be possible to remain a loving and forgiving person after being kidnapped, tormented, imprisoned and forced to watch mass murder? As she prayed in her silent moments in the camp, Magda knew in her heart that God could help her make it out alive. She said, “I think my great trust in God was my source of survival.”
What is hope? Hope is the picture of the future or the thing desired. The dictionary says, “it is a wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.” Robert H. Schuller, said, “Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.”
For Magda, her hope in God, her confidence that He would help her stay strong through the storm, gave her strength for her journey! I want to encourage someone today, DO NOT allow anyone or anything to steal your hope. Magda Herzberger went on to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor, and today at age 88 she is still sharing her story of hope in the midst of tragedy. You can experience that same hope today!
In 2006 we were conducting meetings in Puerto Rico. One particular medical doctor noticed that his patients were being healed and took great interest in the miracles. Even though he was initially skeptical, he realized our emphasis on people connecting with Jesus would bring freedom from stress, and often people didn’t even recognize they were healed! God’s peace had entered their spirit, soul and bodies, and with His presence came healing.
This doctor told us that of the female patients he treats, many convince themselves that they are sick. Interestingly, often when running the required tests to identify a problem, he finds nothing. Yet in a matter of a few weeks or months, the same patients will return with evidence of the illnesses they were convinced already existed.
Research shows that DNA actually changes shape according to our thoughts. As you think negative thoughts, toxic thinking re-wires your brain in a negative direction, forcing your mind and body into stress. On the contrary, every positive thought releases life-giving chemicals. Imagine what the brain does when you smell a rose or look at a beautiful picture, or when you read the word of God! Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace,” and when an individual receives His life into their spirit His presence fills them—often driving out sicknesses and disease.
If you look on the outside of my passport you will see that I am an American Citizen; however, when you look inside, it becomes obvious that I am a citizen of the world. And frankly, I have earned each nation stamp as each culture has indelibly etched its image upon my soul! Whether I experienced success or failure, often in many of these nations a sudden crisis brought out my highest level of creativity! I AM a richly woven tapestry of POSSIBILITY THINKING! And you can be too!
First, SPEND TIME WITH CREATIVE PEOPLE
Whether you are at home, school or busy at the office, spend time with ‘creatives’. These unique souls have practiced the art of turning chaos into beauty and problems into possibilities. Maya Angelou says, ““You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Second, LOOK FOR THE OBVIOUS
As the old saying goes… sometimes the answer is right under your nose. In other words, we don’t always need a creative idea but sometimes we just need to choose the most practical or obvious solution.
Third, BE UNREASONABLE. Always give yourself a minute to think! Think beyond what you consider logical!
Fourth, PRACTICE MENTAL AGILITY.
Being open to spontaneous thought is key to cultivating creativity. I dare you to break free from the rigidity of common thinking and everyday expectation! INNOVATION IS INSPIRING!
Fifth, SEE PROBLEMS AS OPPORTUNITIES!
Creativity is fueled when you replace the word problem with opportunity! ‘Opportunity’ is that moment when you decide, no opposition, poverty, or weakness can hold you back!
Time has a way of dimming our expectation and lowering our forecast of good things in the future. God designed prayer to include the expectation of an answer. Jesus often mentions that our Father’s desire is to do good to His children.
In times of delay Jesus mentions to ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. It is never too late!
When the news came to Jairus that his daughter had died while Jesus was delayed, Jairus was told by Jesus to “only believe.” His daughter will live! Death may be final, but nothing is too late when Jesus is with you!
Jesus needed the faith of Jairus to work with. He knew the bad report would paralyze Jairus as it would us. Grief and sorrow would soon replace faith unless Jesus addressed it. Getting hold of our feelings is important! I believe Jesus was saying to Jairus: “Just stay open to your miracle. Do not shut down. I am bigger than any bad report!”
Friends, never quit and you will never lose!
Scripture: Luke 8:48-50
A few years ago I was speaking in Northern Argentina where I met a young woman who wanted to be well. She said to me, “I came to this meeting tonight for healing! And I know I received my miracle but I don’t want to tell anyone until I’ve returned to the Doctor.”
She was just a teenager and I remember thinking, what could be wrong with this beautiful young girl? A few days later, she again found me after I spoke and this time she was carrying a large brown envelope and smiling from ear to ear!
She had returned to her doctor that day, and he first reminded her that she should give up ANY hope of ever being a mother. Then he continued, “I never would believe this if I wasn’t looking at these x-rays, because I am the one who removed your ovaries and the cyst that had exploded! You now have two normal, healthy ovaries! There is no reason why you can’t be a mother!” He was astonished and she was so excited because her dream was to be a MOMMA! She said, “Leslie, I knew God healed me last night! I just wanted proof so no one could deny what God had done for me!”
Have you ever felt surrounded by chaos? Most people don’t realize that opposition, problems and chaos are often the seed bed for creativity! Why? Creativity flourishes when need arises and solutions are required.
Living in Russia in the early 90’s, I recall walking down the street and picking up a short piece of wire thinking, ‘this is useful.’ I suddenly realized that someone else’s trash had become my potential solution. Lack had forced me to be constantly on the lookout for solutions! That little piece of wire actually solved a plumbing problem we had!
What is a problem? It’s simply the difference between present and future. It is the gap between what you have and what you want. Renowned psychiatrist Theodore Rubin said, “The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.”
A man once wrote of this experience. As a small town prepared to be flooded before the building of a large dam, a unique thing happened. In the months before the flooding, all improvements and repairs stopped! Why paint a house if it will be destroyed in a few months? As week by week the town deteriorated, the man offered this conclusion, “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.”
Hope is the picture of the future. Without that picture there is no confidence to move forward and certainly no power by which to live!
If you need hope today, you’ll find inspiring resources at LeslieMcNulty.com—you will find stories of people just like you discovering hope for everyday life! http://bit.ly/1EEHSMX
