Believe, Then Speak
How different would your life be if you only spoke from a posture of faith?
In the last two posts, I’ve written about borderless faith, probably because God is trying to teach me something very essential. I want to remain in the same vein of thinking with this blog. The Bible says, “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak” (2 Cor. 4:13). Paul indicated that we’re to speak from a posture of faith; we believe, therefore we speak. Statements that we make should be declarations of what we believe, not laments of what has failed to happen. Our language should reflect our faith. Too often we become overwhelmed by surrounding circumstances: the economy, sickness, crime, failures, sin, or disease, and if we’re not careful, these issues begin to become the center of our conversations. In other words, the nature of our language starts to reflect the content of this world; it revolves around earthly issues. This shift gives way to grumbling and complaining, something that we’re commanded not to do (see Phil. 2:14), not to mention that it increases false beliefs. While I’m not suggesting that we ignore people or avoid conversations, I am suggesting that we heed the exhortation that says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).
An impartation of grace usually doesn’t occur when we ruminate on the brokenness of our world; we impart grace when we see our world—our city—through the lens of faith. What would our cities look like if a sweeping revival ignited them? What would it look like if a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit fell on our communities? To merely define the sin of your city is to fall short of becoming an ambassador for Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:20). Looking at your city from the perspective of faith will lead you to pray for it with passion and fervor and additionally it will place you in a position to minister to those you are praying for. My wife and I have been praying for our neighbors, and we’ve been following the Holy Spirit in ways to minister to them. However, they are far from God and their lifestyles reflect that fact. Cindy and I look beyond what we see to what they can be through the redemptive grace of Jesus Christ. Our conversations are not laments of their condition; rather, we are speaking about them from the perspective of faith. We believe, therefore we speak; we have faith that they’ll be redeemed, set free, and leaders in our church, so our language about them reflects the focus of our hearts.
The infamous “faith chapter” in the Bible begins with this: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Assurance can be defined as a foundation or something that has substance. Faith has substance to it; we actually “stand on” what we hope for because it’s that real to us. In this same chapter, we read about Moses who, by faith, “left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (Heb. 11:27). How was Moses able to endure? He saw something that very few others around him saw. His faith gave him a foundation to stand upon and he wasn’t going to be moved by anything. Faith is not merely the assurance of what’s hoped for, but it is the conviction or proof of what’s not seen. The BBE translation reads: “The sign that the things not seen are true.” Faith proves itself. When you read chapter eleven of Hebrews in its entirety, you discover many men and woman who proved the reality of their faith; every person stood on what they hoped for.
If we live by faith we will see things long before they are a reality. We will see families reunited, marriages restored, prodigals saved, believers sanctified, bodies healed, churches revived, and cities transformed. What we see will determine what we speak. Jesus, from the perspective of the kingdom of God, decreed over a sinful city: “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35). He looked at a mountain in Caesarea Philippi, the very place where pagan worship occurred hundreds of years before that moment, and He said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). Jesus saw with a kingdom viewpoint, therefore He spoke. What do you see? How do you view your neighborhood, church, or city? Maybe the question should be: What kinds of things come out of your mouth? What you say might be an indicator of what you see.
Faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ (see Rom. 10:17). So let’s remain close to Him. Let’s stay at Jesus’ feet like Mary and listen to His Word (see Luke 10:39). No matter what we might walk through, my prayer is that when we come to the end of our earthly journey we will say, as Paul did, “We have kept our faith” (see 2 Tim. 4:7). But until then, let’s learn to see with eyes of faith and speak with mouths filled with kingdom declarations.
Let’s Pray
God, I repent for gripes, complaints, and negativity. Increase my faith, and help me to see my world from the perspective of faith. Let my mouth become an instrument of praise and a voice of hope. Let my words impart grace to all I speak to, in Jesus’ name, amen.
