“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for as it was the substance of things which have come to pass,”   Hebrews 11:1.

One of the most powerful truths I’ve learned in my years of walking with The LORD is so often overlooked or misunderstood that God’s People become confused and weak in their Christian walk.

That truth has to do with faith. As we look at Hebrews 11:1-2, I want to quote the Lamsa Bible which is based on the Peshitta text or the Aramaic language.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for as it was the substance of things which have come to pass; and it is the evidence of things not seen. And in this way it became a testimony concerning the elders.”   Hebrews 11:1-2.

 The question must be asked, ‘What are we looking at or seeing?’

We’ve all heard the expression by now that what you focus on you empower.  The more you focus on any one thing, the greater influence that thing you are focusing on is empowered and activated in your life.

Let me give you an example of how this works.  Recently we were praying for an individual who was in need of healing.  They were in pain and had not had any relief even though they had prayed and been prayed for.

As this individual began to share with me what was going on in their body, I stopped them and asked them a simple question, “How will you know you are healed?”

At first they were confused. Then they responded, “Well…. by faith.”

I said that was reasonable, but what does Faith look like?  Now they were really confused.  The individual had no answer to this.

Faith is a substance. What does it need to be formed in to as you begin to apply it?  A new bone?  Smooth skin with no more rash?  New eyes?  And the list goes on.

Here is the key.  When you are standing in Faith for something  that  you’ve prayed about, what do you ‘see’?

Faith has a visual aspect to it.  Do you still ‘see’ yourself as sick and afflicted?  Do you ‘see’ yourself having to continue in suffering as your ‘cross to bear’?  What do you see?

Here’s the thing; if I come before The LORD with a need for healing in my body I must ‘see’ through the eyes of faith that my body is healed!  I SEE it as done.

Where there was a lack of an ability to function, I see myself whole and fully able to function with no hindrance nor any pain.

In 1 Kings 19 we read the story of Elijah who had just come from one of the greatest victories of his ministry.  We read how The LORD in chapter 18 instructed Elijah to confront Ahab and the false prophets of Baal to come to a showdown on Mount Carmel.

After The LORD had triumphed over all the false prophets The LORD instructed Elijah to remove their heads.  We then get to chapter 19.

When Jezebel was told what Elijah had done she sent a messenger to Elijah and told him that what he had done to her prophets she would do the same to him by morning.

“And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.”   1 Kings 19:3 NKJV.

The question must be asked, what did he see?  The parchment the message was written on?  The messenger sent to him?  Or was he ‘seeing’ something else?

Yes, he was ‘seeing’ what he had just done to all those false prophets and he pictured himself dying in the same manner so he fled.

What he was focused on, seeing himself losing his head, was empowered in his life and became the motivating ‘reality’ of his life.

When we apply faith in our lives we must check our hearts and understand that our focus must be fixed upon God’s promises!  We cannot look at the circumstances and by doing so empower them to continue to be active in our lives!

Abraham was given a promise from The LORD regarding his ancestry.  He was told that his children would be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the dust of the ground.

Now, here is the key: everywhere Abraham went during the day in the deserts of the middle east he not only saw dust, but he was often covered in dust!

Every night as he looked up all he could see was the expanse of stars in the heavens.

The biblical principle we see here is simple: Abraham’s focus each and every 24 hour day was to continually hold the promise of God before him!  This empowered that promise to become his reality in spite of all the impossibility of the natural realm!

So again, what are we empowering in our lives?  Do we ‘see’ through the eyes of faith?  If so, we must not allow our vision, our focus to stray to the circumstances of what this natural realm says.

Back to my story of the individual I was praying for.  When I was able to explain to them the process of ‘seeing’ what The LORD says is their reality and they understood this simple principle they were instantly  delivered from their affliction.

We must be a Remnant Company of Believers who BELIEVE what The Word says and see it as reality in our lives!

We cannot continually compromise our Faith by gazing at the world and all of its negative fallen nature and expect to walk in The Kingdom reality Jesus purchased for us with His Blood.

I ask myself frequently throughout the day, “What am I seeing?”  What am I ‘looking at’ with my thoughts and imagination?  This keeps me in focus, ‘looking at’ what The LORD says is Truth.

 

For His glory,
~ Bruce Allen

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Dr. Bruce Allen, is the founder of Still Waters International Ministries, PO Box 1001 Chewelah WA, 99109 United States.  It is Bruce’s passion to see the Body of Christ awaken to their destiny in this hour by equipping them to hear God’s voice and access the reality of the supernatural in every day life.

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