EXPECTANT FAITH

EXPECTANT FAITH

I shared with you last week that we are in one of those tight spots
right now at America's KESWICK with our finances. Over the past 108
years we have been there many times and God has always proven Himself
faithful. Today's reading from STREAMS IN THE DESERT was one of those
"whack-in-the-head" messages to me from the Lord . . . I pray it will
encourage your heart as together we wait on Him EXPECTANTLY . . .

"Faith is being . . . certain of what we do not see." -- Hebrews 11:1

"Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. Distrust,
however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the
answer never arrives. There are some letters on my desk that I wrote
weeks ago, but I have yet to mail them because of my uncertainty over
the address or the contents. Those letters have not done any good for me
or anyone else at this point. And they never will accomplish anything
until I let go of them, trusting them to the postal service.

It is the same with genuine faith. It hands its circumstance over to
God, allowing HIM to work. Psalm 37:5 is a great confirmation of this:
'Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and he will do this.' He
will never work until we COMMIT. Faith is RECEIVING -- or even more,
actually appropriating -- the gifts God offers us. We may believe in
Him, come to Him, commit to Him, and rest in Him, but we will never
fully realize all our blessings until we begin to receive from Him and
come to Him having the spirit of abiding and appropriating.

Dr. Payson, while still a very young man, once wrote to an elderly
mother who was worried and burdened over the condition of her son. He
wrote:

'You are worrying too much about him. Once you have prayed for him, as
you have done, and committed him to God, you should not continue to be
anxious. God's command, 'Do not be anxious about anything' (Philippians
4:6), is unlimited, and so is the verse, 'Cast ALL your anxiety on Him'
(1 Peter 5:7). If we truly have cast our burdens upon another, can they
continue to pressure us? If we carry them with us FROM the throne of
grace, it is obvious we have not left them there. In my own life I test
my prayers in this way: after committing something to God, if I can come
away, like Hannah did, with no more sadness, pain, or anxiety in my
heart, I see it as proof that I have prayed the prayer of faith. But if
I pray and STILL carry my burden, I conclude that my faith was not
exercised.'" STREAMS IN THE DESERT (Cowman/Zondervan)

So what about you this morning? I shared my burden with you -- today I
leave it at the mercy seat! Is there something weighing you down? A
relationship? A problem? "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and
he will do this!"

Good word for today.

GUYS: Good Mother's Day gift for your wife. Why not send her to our
Spring Ladies Day on Wednesday, May 10th. Annie Chapman is our keynote
speaker. Call today and make reservations for your special lady --
800-453-7942.

This week on KESWICK TODAY, our Guest Services Team talk about the value
of a retreat at America's KESWICK. You can listen to the broadcasts
right from our homepage: www.americaskeswick.org.