To Be Complete, part 2

The Lord has been working in me lately-or perhaps I should say working on me-regarding my words. I've heard a lot about "confession" over the years, and a lot of what I've heard has been negative. I've heard about "name it 'n' claim it," and I've heard about weird and crazy stuff that never worked, and I've done a bit of "confessing" myself that hasn't had the slightest impact on anything. So I got a bit turned off. Me getting things wrong doesn't mean that what I got wrong was wrong, though.

In bits and pieces, from here and from there, the Lord has been showing me that confession-or may I say intentional speaking-is a powerful, indispensable key to experiencing the promises of God. The key to this key, however, is integrity. Everything must be aligned inside of me. If what I say isn't coming out of my heart, then it qualifies as deceit. Can I expect to deceive the Lord with my words? Can I expect to deceive myself with my words? Half the time I can't even deceive others with my words! Somehow, in the middle of all my speaking, my heart manages to show up, and most people can tell if I'm speaking deceitfully.

On the other hand, the Bible abounds with examples of powerful speaking, and it is nearly always coupled and aligned with the heart. If you confess and believe, you will be saved. If you say to this mountain . and do not doubt in your heart . it will be cast into the sea.

In the past, I've mostly been trying to drum up faith, and my failed usage of the power of words was a compilation of fake faith and a list of things I wanted but was afraid I'd never have. That is a far cry from having a word from the Lord. When God has put something inside of me, it becomes my responsibility to align all of myself with that. I think about it. I talk about it. I talk to the circumstances surrounding it. I pray about it. I feel it. I act on it. Not one of these things can be left out, if I am going to a) be a person of integrity (which means I am not divided) and b) see and enjoy God's word coming to pass. It is not enough for me to believe and act on. Nor is it enough for me to talk about it only.

In order for me to live in the bounty of God's good promises, I must take what the Lord has put inside of me, and really take it in. I have to be willing to think it, feel it, speak it, and act on it.

That isn't as "easy" as it sounds, either. There will always be some aspect of that to make you feel ridiculous in some way. Get over it!

Make no apologies for taking hold of God's promises!

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