“Who’s going through something challenging right now?” Every time I’ve asked an audience this question, nearly every hand goes up. Pretty much everyone is facing some kind of giant. If you are not experiencing a challenge right now, you will be. Jesus said it. He said that in the world, we would have trials. Difficult situations. The trials can easily make us feel hopeless. We feel like we are backed up against a wall, and there is nowhere to go, no one to call. We are at the end of the line, and we feel like we don’t have a future.
It’s happened to me, and I know it’s happened to you because I’ve seen many of your faces. During these watershed moments in our lives, we need supernatural, life-empowering intervention. What’s more, we can choose to take a defiant posture of faith and trust. We need to stay close the only One who can move mountains for us. Here are five keys to posturing in fierce faith and persevering through trials.
1. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU. In Jeremiah 29:11, God said, “I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
First of all, God has plans for YOU. Yes, YOU. Right where you are. He still has a plan. A plan means something that has been worked out ahead of time. Think about it. God knew about the trial you are in right now. He knew about the pain. He knew about scattered feelings of hopelessness. But He STILL has a plan for YOU. And that plan contains hope.
Say it to yourself right now: “God has a plan for me.” That’s right. It’s important that you speak it. When you do, you are making a choice to come into agreement with what God has already said about you. Don’t go looking at your circumstances, or you will begin to sink in the waves of despair, just like Peter when he walked on water. Choose to agree that God has a plan.
2. YOU HAVE HOPE. The last part of Jeremiah 29:11 says that God gives you “hope and a future.”
I want to focus on the word “HOPE.” God’s definition of hope means favorable and confident expectation based on the promises of God. Say right now: “I have hope!” Here is a key to remember: God has already given you hope. Hope is in you right now. Go ahead and look. You have a deep reservoir of hope.
Hope connects you with your future. No matter what the situation looks like, He has a future for you. Having hope means you are going to make it. You will fulfill everything God has called you to do.
3. YOU WILL PROSPER. God said, “I have plans to prosper you and not to harm you.”
What He is saying here is that He is working everything out for the good of those who love Him. You will find that passage in Romans 8:28. Say it right now: “God is working everything together for my good because I love Him.” It’s not your job to figure out how your situation could or should work it out. That’s God’s part. Your job is to trust that right now, He is at work on your behalf.
4. YOU CAN TRUST GOD. Okay, now let’s talk about trusting God. Trusting God means that no matter what—you are going to dig in your heels and rely on Him.
Say right now, “I do not lean on my own understanding. I rely on You, God. You will direct my path.” Trust increases when you speak it and set your mind to think it.
Now let’s tie this all together. Right now, say: “I trust You, Lord, with my future!” He cares about every detail of your life. You will know you have fierce faith when things don’t turn out the way you want—and you trust Him anyway.
5. CHOOSE TO SPEAK LIFE. It is vital that you speak not only in your head but also that you verbalize Scripture out loud. “Life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).
Here are two more keys:
- What you say about your future affects your future.
- What you verbalize about trusting God affects your future.
He said He has a plan for you. Verbalize it. Speak LIFE. Choose LIFE. Choose to BELIEVE God. Hold on to God and trust God.
Know this: you might have felt like you were backed up against a wall. But it is not a wall with nowhere to go. You can choose. You can believe. You can trust. You can have fierce faith. Posture yourself to be backed up in one position and one position only—right into the arms of Jesus!