Grey Cup Victory... is MINE!

Today is Grey Cup Sunday.  The day where hundreds of thousands of Canadians are glued to their TV set to see the outcome of two sets of men beating each other into the dirt.  Or in this case, because it's being hosted in Vancouver, into the mushy, soggy ground.  Oh, wait.  That won't happen either now that BC Place has a new roof!  Personally, I don't watch football.  Not even athletic men in tight pants is enough to keep me interested in that sport.  I am a hockey girl through and through.  This does not mean I won't be recording the game on my PVR while I'm at church.  There is something about the last minute of a championship game that is incredible to watch, no matter what the sport.  It is a magical moment when those final seconds count down and the victory in won.  The players have a massive group hug, the coaches are ecstatic (even if they try to hide it), the media is in a frenzy, and the fans go wild!  An enormous ROAR can be heard across the city.  And, best of all, everyone is smiling and happy.  It is a moment of complete joy for the victors.

Ok...now to get real.  I have been having doubts.  One of my biggest fears is that I don't have enough faith to be healed by God.  Mark 5 : 25-34 holds the story of a woman who was healed by faith...
²⁵ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

 ³⁰ At once Jesus realized that healing power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked,“Who touched my clothes?”

 ³¹ “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

 ³² But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her,“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

It was her reaching out in faith that healed her.  I know I have faith, but I sometimes doubt that I have enough faith to deserve healing.  Sometimes I doubt that I will get better.  When I repeat to myself and others, "I will get better.  I can beat this," do I truly believe it?  I don't know.  I know I am strong willed and otherwise quite healthy.  Logically it makes sense that I can get better, but I believe that if it's not God's will to get better, then I won't.  At the same time, if it is His will that I get better, then I will.  These doubts could eat a person up inside.  

I was at a dedication for my friend's son this morning and the Pastor just happened to be speaking on Faith vs Doubt.  Coincidence?  I think not.  (I love how God throws us exactly what we need, when we need it).  He spoke of how we are either feeding our doubts or feeding our faith.  What I need to do right now is feed my faith by reading, hearing, and obeying the Word of God.  I need to starve my doubts by being careful what words are coming into my life.  I need to leave out the negative, both when speaking and hearing (does that mean I should delete the previous paragraph?).  Our words either work for us or against us and I plan on making mine work for me.  Words are our servants and I will command mine to only speak the truth that God has given.  This truth is that even if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, it is ENOUGH!  Thank goodness for that!  The truth is that the Greater One, the Lion of Judah, Christ himself, lives inside me and He has already won!  I will continue to feed this Lion within until he arises with a mighty roar; a roar that makes mountains tremble!  ....even bigger than the roar arising from BC Place when another group of Lions won their victory today!

1 John 5:4
That's because everyone who is a child of God has won the battle over the world. Our faith has won the battle for us.


1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.


 Psalm 68:1
¹ May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
   may his foes flee before him.


Hebrews 11:1
 ¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.


Proverbs 18:21
²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
   and those who love it will eat its fruit.