RYH Chapter 3 “Have Faith”

Do You Have Faith or Fear?

Fear will be one of the greatest attacks that you will need to overcome. Romans 12:21 tells us “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Fear will steal your faith and make you totally vulnerable to the enemy. When you listen to all that others tell you about what your doctor is telling you or how you look or feel instead of keeping your eyes on the Lord and His Word, you will fail to focus on Him and His plan for your life and/or the future plans for your loved one, you will begin to sink into despair and remain in dis-ease!

Have faith in God’s ability and His desire to restore the health of His people. Focus on the reason why He allows eacg crisis and trial in your life. Once again, remember, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it" John 11:4. Again, read the testimonies of countless people who were healed, and believe that your testimony will be added to theirs!

An example of faith: Peter. Read the account of Peter in Matthew 14 starting in verse 22. Jesus asked Peter to walk on water. If He is asking you to walk on water, are you going to get out of the boat? Watch when Peter cries out to Jesus—it is always followed by the word immediately. Immediately, Jesus spoke to them and told them to take courage. When Peter began to sink and he cried out to the Lord, “immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him”! (Matt. 14:31).

Fear. A question we must ask ourselves is “why did Peter sink?” “But seeing the wind, he became afraid” (Matt. 14:30). If you look at your situation and at the battle that is raging against you, you will sink, sink into despair and remain in dis-ease! Peter took his eyes off of the Lord and the result was fear, causing him to sink! It says, “he became afraid.” If you take your eyes off of the Lord, you will become fearful.

Instead, look to Jesus and rise above your storm. When you are in an airplane in the midst of a storm, it is very bumpy as you are climbing to get above the clouds. Yet, once the plane is above those black clouds, the flight becomes smooth, the sun is shining, and you can almost see and feel God there! Amazingly, from that vantage point, the clouds below are white and soft! It's the same where your health is concerned. Keep your eyes and hope on Him until your emotions and faith have climbed above the stormy bumpy clouds. 

Your testimony. Another very important point is to see what happened to the others who were in the boat. (Did you forget that there were others who didn’t get out of the boat?) It says, “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” (Matt. 14:33). This is the reason why God allowed this to befall you— to use you and your faith in Him—to show His goodness, His loving kindness, His protection, and to draw others to trust Him. Not just for their health, but to trust Him with their eternity. There is a great reward in evangelism—simply sharing what He's done for you. Not only when you are entirely healed and whole, but along the journey, exhibiting the "peace that surpasses all understanding." Others will come to you when they are having trouble with their health or any other trial in their lives when they have witness your peace despite your circumstances.

Overcome

The wind stopped. “And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped” (Matt. 14:32). Your battle will not go on forever. This test was needed to make Peter strong enough to be the “Rock” of which Jesus had spoken (Matt. 16:18). 

God never intended us to remain “in the valley of the shadow of death.” In Proverbs 23, it says that we go “through the valley of the shadow of death.” The enemy wants us to think that God wants us to live and die there! That's why the enemy does all he can to paint a “hopeless” picture using the results of tests, diagnosis, what you see rather than what you believe. God is our hope, and hope is the faith in His Word that has been sown in our hearts.

Faith

Abraham. A second example is when Abraham was 90 years old and still without the child God had promised him. It says, “He hoped against hope” (Rom. 4:18). Isn’t that good? Even when all hope was gone, he continued to believe God and take Him at His Word. We must do the same. Another interesting and important principle is that it says that Abraham "contemplated" and acknowledged how hopeless and bleak his situation was. "Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb" (Rom. 4:19). You don't have to be in denial—you simply need to move past the impossibility and acknowledge the greatness and power of God—along with His desire to heal.

Faith robber. Don't let anyone steal your faith. Remain discreet with who you share your heart with. If the person or group isn't supportive and is lifting you up, simple "agree with your adversary" (Matt. 5:25) and then keep your thoughts and beliefs close to your heart. “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). "Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often." Think, ponder, treasure and hide what you believe in your heart. “Hope deferred makes the heart [and body] sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Prov. 13:12).

Act on the faith that you have. “And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you’” (Matt. 17:20).

If you lack faith. If you lack faith, you should ask God. There is a battle, not only against your health, but the battle is also to destroy your faith. “Fight the good fight of faith . . .”  (1 Tim. 6:12). And “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith . . .” (2 Tim. 4:7) “And He [Jesus] could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief” (Mark 6:5). When the Lord lays His hands on you, will He marvel at your unbelief?

Imitators of faith. We would do well to imitate those in Scripture who exhibited faith (You can find the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews, chapter 11). We need to act on God’s promises: “but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12). There are many who have followed the principles found in this book for every sort of restoration. Their testimonies should encourage you in your faith. Believe as the song says, “What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you!” Read all the incredible testimonies of those who God healed on our website at EncouragingWomen.org.

Testimonies of Physical Pain & Suffering Healed!  ★★★★★ Testimonies and Testimonies of Emotional Pain & Suffering Healed! ★★★★★ Testimonies. Be sure that you add your own testimony to encourage others.

Doubt Destroys

Double-minded or doubting. You must not be double-minded. Your mind must not waver or doubt God. “But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6–8). “I hate those who are double-minded, but I love Thy law” (Ps. 119:13).

If you have trouble with double-mindedness, you need to read and meditate on God’s Word, which is the only truth! You must also separate yourself from anyone who continues to tell you something contrary to your desire to restore your health. You must also always speak the truth to everyone about your faith in God’s ability and His desire to restore your health.

Nevertheless, as was stated earlier, Abraham "contemplated" and faced the facts of his age and the deadness of his wife's womb, yet He rose above those doubts and "hoped against all hope" he believed.

Yet will I praise Him. Even "Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [even] though the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food, [even] though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, Yet [despite this] I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord; I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation!" (Hab. 3:17-18 AMP).

Faith without works. “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works’” (James 2:18). Show others that you have faith by your actions. If you believe that your health will improve, act like you believe it. Don't talk about every new symptom that confirms the diagnosis—speak about and remind yourself of each and every improvement He's made. “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:20). 

Firm in your faith. Remind yourself over and over of each person you know who overcame their dreaded and impossible disease and who received the abundant life God promised. “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Pet. 5:9). Read and reread the testimonies on our website mentioned above. Keep the testimonies of others in the forefront of your mind. Share these testimonies with your family and friends who are agreeing with you for your healing.

How to Increase Your Faith

The Word. How can we gain faith or increase our faith? “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Read His Word and, once again, the testimonies of others whose life proved the impossible can happen. Surround yourself with faithful people who will believe with you, people who have gone through their own difficulties. Those who have stood for God will teach you and hold you up. Many times we find that when you feel like you are almost out of faith, you should give away what little you have left. Call someone you sense needs encouraging and give that person the rest of your faith. You will hang up the phone rejoicing because God will fill you full of faith. Read 1 Kings 17:12–15 to remember the widow who gave her last cake to Elijah and the miracle she received!

So many come to us for help and fail to reap a restoration because they feel they are unable to sow into anyone else’s life as they are struggling to save themselves. This is unbiblical and contrary to God’s principles. Ask God for someone you can encourage, here at RMI we call them an ePartner (an encouragement partner) and help encourage them.

Obedience. Don’t forget that obedience to God is paramount to victory. Don’t forget what Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS’” (Matt. 7:21, 23). If you practice or keep doing what you now know is contrary to the biblical principles found in this book, you won't have the faith you need for healing and restored health!

In God’s will. If your heart convicts you that you are not in God’s will and that you are not following His principles in this book, then of course you will have no confidence and no faith to receive your request from the Lord. Ask God to “break” you so your will becomes His will.

You MUST Wait

Wait for His timing. God seems to work on one thing at a time. We must work with Him in His timing. This does not mean we need to wait to pray; it only means we need to wait for God to change the outcome at the proper time. Just use the time wisely. Encourage others, share your testimony or the testimony of others while the battle continues to rage. There often are many battles that must be fought (and won) in the war against your health. Just remember, “When the battle is the Lord’s, the victory is ours!”

We have the comfort of knowing that He hears us immediately, but the response may seem slow. In the book of Daniel, an angel spoke to him and gave us these insights: “. . . From the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days” (Dan. 10:12–13). It may take some time to win the battles, to see progress, so do not become weary. “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good” (2 Thess. 3:13).

Personal commitment: to allow God to change me. “Based on what I have learned from God’s Word, I commit to seeking God and His Word to increase my faith in His ability to restore my health and heal me. I will fight fear by keeping my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith.”