In his early ministry, Oral Roberts was criticized because he dared to tell anyone who would listen that "God is a good God." We know from the testimony of Scripture that God is good and he wants to bless his people greatly. Yes, in this world there are trials and tribulations, but God desires to bless his people far beyond what we can even imagine.

Paul said, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

The Psalmist said, For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11 NIV)

God wants to work in us to do beyond what we could ask or imagine. No good thing will he withhold from those who choose to walk right before him. I could list scores of additional verses from the Bible that would agree with the two verses above. God wants you blessed, and God wants you blessed to be a blessing.

The enemy works to the thwart the blessing of God in our lives. He is often successful in sowing seeds of discouragement. God will sow seeds of vision in the spirit of a man or woman of God, but it seems to take so long to come to pass. We see the numerous promises in the Word of God, and we lay hold of a promise, but often let go because it seems to be taking too long.

The writer of Hebrews said, We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6:12 NIV) He also said regarding Abraham, And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. (Hebrews 6:15 NIV)

God requires that his children walk by faith. We must believe God and his Word. We must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of those who pursue him. (See Hebrews 11:6) The walk of faith requires patience. God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12 that he would make him into a great nation. At that time Abraham was 75 years old. He waited 25 years for the fulfillment of that promise to him. He stood, and sometimes stumbled, in faith until he was 100 years old and his barren wife was 90 before the child of promise was born. The writer of Hebrews says that Abraham's body was a good as dead when Issac was born. Abraham was past the normal age of being able to father a child, but the power of the promise spoken to Abraham far exceeded the limitations of the human body.

For the child of promise, Abraham waited 25 years. In today's western Christian world, believers seem to find it difficult to wait 25 days, much less 25 years.

In Hebrews 6:12 the church is exhorted to not be lazy. We do not receive from God by works, yet faith requires a degree of spiritual effort. You must actively believe that you have received that which God has promised. (See Mark 11:24)

Years ago I heard the late John Osteen, the founding pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, tell the following story. In the early days of Lakewood Church, they held an annual Thanksgiving week convention. Pastor Osteen liked to feed the ministers that attended the convention each year. One year, when the church was still relatively small, he decided to believe God for a cow to help feed the ministers. So, he prayed and believed that he received the cow. Surely the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills could supply one cow for Pastor Osteen.

After a while his faith began to wane, and his church had the money to feed the ministers, so he allowed himself to let go of the cow. The church experienced a time of blessing during the week of convention. At some point after the convention, God spoke to Pastor Osteen through a dream one night. I don't remember the details of the dream, but the message of the Holy Spirit to Pastor Osteen was clear and to the point: "I just wanted to let you know that you let the devil get your cow." Through faith AND patience we inherit the promises.

As a believer waits an extended period of time to see the results of his prayer, he begins to assume that the lack of the manifestation of the answer is because God does not want him to have that for which he has prayed. Well, we should never want what God does not want us to have. However, if God does not want you to have something, he is not shy. He can simply tell you. If your request is in line with the Word of God, never assume he doesn't want you to have it unless the Holy Spirit gives you specific revelation regarding the matter.

Never give up. It is through faith and patience we inherit the promises. This is an hour in history when God wants his blessing and his promise to be manifested in the church and to the world in an unprecedented fashion. Let your heart be stirred afresh with a tenacious determination that you will receive the promises of God for your life, your family, and your ministry.

NEVER GIVE UP!

Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org
Wisdom From the Word
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