When fear knocks, faith answers!

Good morning! My name is Charlotte and I am writing to help us give our first thoughts to the Lord.



We have been talking this week about little things. Jesus also spoke of little things.

In Matthew 6 verse 30 we read WHEREFORE, IF GOD SO CLOTHE THE GRASS OF THE FIELD, WHICH TODAY IS, AND TOMORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN, SHALL HE NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU, O YE OF LITTLE FAITH?

For some reason the last few days I have been looking back to when I raised my older children. I keep wondering how I clothed them. Wal-Mart didn't come into being until 1962 - that is when it was launched and by 1980 it was well under way. We had the stores like Scott's 5/10 cent stores. Rephans - West Brothers which were small department stores. I did not know how to shop in a big store because I never went shopping in my life because my mother made all of my clothes. So, because of lack of stores to shop in and lack of resources, I did not do a lot of buying in stores. I know I garage saled some. My faith was in God and I suppose He clothed my children.

I do remember one Easter I decided that we were all going to have new outfits for Easter. I bought a suit for my oldest, a new dress for my daughter but had a hard time finding a suit for my middle son as he was at a pudgy stage. Everyone had a new outfit but me. I went out to my car one day after work and someone had bought me enough material to make me a beautiful pink suit. So we all went to church on Easter decked to the hilt.

Another Easter I remember, before my daughter was born, the three of us went home to Mom and Dad's for Easter. I had made me a new blue suit which was beautiful and had bought the boys little suits with ties. They were so precious. We all went to church and my dad was going to help me take care of the boys in church. They were 3 and 4 years old. Tim was a handful but not as much as Chip. My dad got down on one end of the pew and I got on the other. When Chip discovered that both ends were covered, you guessed it! he went under the pews. My dad went (grinning as he went) and retrieved him and could not believe that he had done it. They were a handful.

Matthew 8:26 says AND HE (JESUS) SAITH UNTO THEM, WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH? THEN HE AROSE, AND REBUKED THE WINDS AND THE SEA; AND THERE WAS A GREAT CALM.

Have you ever been burdened? Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever had just too much on your plate? There is an answer!!!!!! The answer is Jesus.

In the pentecostal realm there is a saying called 'praying through.' You actually don't hear much of it anymore. You hear to go to the front of the church and be prayed for, but to 'pray through' is a wonderful thing. Another way of putting it is 'pray until the answer comes.'

In raising my children and today also, I don't know what I would do without 'praying through.' It means you keep on keeping on praying until you reach God and there is a peace that passes all understanding in your heart and you know that everything is going to be all right, that God is in control and you don't have to be afraid or apprehensive any more.

The disciples were afraid because a storm had arisen and they were in their boat. Jesus was asleep and they were shaking in their boots. They awoke Him and He rebuked the storm.

That is the same way with praying through. You pray until you wake up the Jesus, not in Him, but in you, and the answer comes.

The Bible talks about if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed. Girls used to wear grains of mustard seed enclosed in a drop on a chain around their necks to remind them to have faith. Jesus says if we have faith as big as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. You see, from the mustard seed which is a tiny seed, the mightiest of trees grow, so when we activate a tiny, tiny, bit of faith, we can expect great things - miraculous things - mountain moving things - in our lives.

In Matthew 14:31 the last part Jesus says O THOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHEREFORE DIDST THOU DOUBT? He says you of little faith, why did you doubt?

Another time right after Jesus had fed the 5,000 with a little boy's lunch, He and disciples launched out in the boat and the storm started up and the disciples got afraid. Jesus reminded them O YE OF LITTLE FAITH do you not remember just earlier today that I fed the 5,000 with a boys lunch and you gathered what was left over. Did that not increase your faith? Can you not remember the mighty things I have done? Where is your faith?

Our faith, even though it is as small as a mustard seed, is what is pleasing in God's eye. For when we exercise our faith it grows and grows to where when fear knocks, faith answers.

Father, thank you for mountain moving faith. Thank you, Lord, that when we call, You answer. Help our faith to grow...Lord, sun it, water it, air it, so that in this life, we can have mountain moving faith. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

Have a wonderful day!

Charlotte