Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Have you ever gotten up in the morning determined to stand in faith for something?  Maybe for a physical healing, or a determined attitude about your work day or even your commitment to be spiritually minded and not to be focused on any negative circumstance or allow the cares of life to steal your joy?

And then maybe just an hour after you’ve made that decision that you’re going to walk on water that day, you were met by the biggest and strongest waves you’ve ever seen and you totally forget what you were standing in faith for just hours or even minutes before?

We might believe God’s word is true, but if we’re not careful, as those physical circumstances continue to rage, we can lose our footing and waver or doubt and move out of a place of faith.

Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

To be carnal doesn’t necessarily mean evil minded, but to be focused on the natural-what you can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel.

To be spiritually minded is to be Word minded.  Jesus said His words are spirit and life.

So how do we do this?

First: we have to keep our mind stayed on the truth of God’s word-so you have to have something to stand on… If God is your source, you need to know what He says.  It’s not enough to just have a general idea about God’s will and faith isn’t believing that whatever happens is God’s will.  You need to know that you know-based on the Word of God.  So if you’re dealing with a sickness, you need to know that Jesus took your sickness as much as he did your sin on the cross-if you are believing for finances, or prosperity-God promises to meet all your needs according to His riches in glory…If you’re dealing with confidence or self-esteem issues, you need to know who you are in the spirit-according to the word of God.  Once you’re grounded in that Word, you’re ready to take a stand!!

Next, you need to make a decision-ahead of time that you will NOT be moved from your stance of faith!

I think many times though, we see something in the Word, and we try to “stand” on that word, but we’re not grounded in it.  That’s why we can be moved out of our position of faith so easily.

I’d like to share from the Parable of The Sower.  I’m going to give the whole parable, but then I’m going to concentrate on the first/second type of ground for the sake of the article.

In this parable, Jesus compares the Word of God to seed and our heart to the ground in which the seed is sown.

Beginning in Mark 4:3, Jesus speaking says,

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Then in verse 15, Jesus begins to explain the parable to His disciples.

“And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

The whole parable is important.  Jesus said if we do not understand this parable, we won’t understand any of the other parables that He spoke.  So I encourage you to study the whole account of the parable of the sower yourself.  It’s in Mark 4:1-20, and Matthew 13:1-23.

But here, I want to concentrate on the first two types of ground:

The first type of ground or heart is compared to the wayside.  And when the word was sown, it was taken away by Satan.  This could refer to someone who doesn’t esteem the Word of God.  There are many people that call themselves Christians who don’t read the Bible for themselves, or go to church necessarily to be fed the Word of truth; not letting the Bible get in the way of what they believe.  Others might just not make the effort or go deep enough to try to understand the Word given to them.  So Satan has easy access and steals that word.

Then the second type of ground or heart is compared to stony ground.  And when the Word is sown, the person receives it with gladness, is excited about it, but does not have root in themselves.  They have not spent enough quantity and quality time in the word to get it rooted in their heart.  So then when persecution or tribulation comes, they stumble.

So again, we must know the Word of God and be rooted in it.  So once we make that stand in faith, along with the decision not to move, we have to hold onto our confidence and our expectation.

It says in Hebrews 10:35 “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”

And if we do miss it, we can assure our hearts.

1 John 3:19-21 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

While the context of that scripture is referring to loving others, the concept is true regardless of the struggle you might be facing.

And the writer of Hebrews tells us in:

Hebrews 10:22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

We may need to remind ourselves 50x’s a day, but if we don’t lose confidence or accept condemnation we’ll be able to stand in faith, and God’s power and might will go to work in that situation.  Amen

So let me encourage you today, find just one scripture that you can stand on for what you are believing.  Meditate on it until it becomes real to you; until you are so grounded in that truth that it is more real than the contradiction of what might be in the natural. Then make your confession in faith-with a bulldog determination that when opposing forces come against it through the day-you will not be moved.

You can assure your heart with confidence. Make a decision, and do not let yourself back away from it.   Your confidence isn’t in yourself; it’s in God and His Word.   And God’s Word has the power when planted in your heart to bring the harvest of that WORD!

You will reap if you do not lose heart.  Praise God!!