It Is Well

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his
servant, "Behold, there is the Shunammite. "Please run now to meet
her and say to her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your
husband? Is it well with the child?' " And she answered, "It is
well."' 2 Kings 4:25-26

Do you have "It is well faith?" "It is well faith" is faith that
is wholly based on the Promisor's promise and not on how things
appear. Can you look at your present condition and still say,
"It is well?" If not, you are more than likely focusing on the
wrong thing.

As sure as each moment of life brings you a moment closer toward
death, you will be faced with a factual situation that contradicts
what you are believing God for. As a matter of fact, that is what
your situation is after - your faith. The bible says in
James 1: 2-3, "count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." The
various trials where directed at their faith. Our faith is what
causes us to overcome what we do see, to receive what God has
said we will see, but has not manifested yet.

The enemy wants to use the facts of our situation to frustrate our
faith and what God has said concerning us. Our breakthrough will
be determined by our decision to stand on our faith and not on the
facts. Facts change, but the Word of God never changes. Facts
are based on circumstances, while faith is based on the surety of
God's Word. The Bible says, "God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He
not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it
good?" (Numbers 23:19).

The most valuable possession you can have is genuine and
unshakable faith in God's Word. It is what enables
you to endure and overcome hostile and oppressive living
conditions. With faith, no person, thing or situation has the
final word. This is why the Bible says, "we walk (live) by faith
and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7)

In the text, this Shunammite woman was materially prosperous but
had no child. Because she cared for the man of God he promised
her a child. She eventually had the child who grew to adulthood
but later died while in the field. The woman placed her dead son
on the bed of the one who promised her a son and set out to find
him. When questioned about where she was going she replied, "It
will be well". As she approached, the prophet's servant asked how
things were going and she again replied, "It is well".

Her son is dead, her husband had given up on his son and when she
finally finds the one who promised her a son, she doesn't cuss,
faint or fight. She reminds him of God's Word. She was holding
onto her faith in the Word instead of the fact that her son was dead.

Too many of us give up on things too easily because their
realization seems unlikely or impossible. We have allowed
blessings, callings, dreams and breakthroughs that God has sent us
to die because it appeared that they would never happen. The next
time you think of abandoning a dream or promise that God gave you -
remember the Shunammite woman's response to facts. When the facts
say, it won't work, it will never happen or things will never
change, say what the Shunammite woman said: "It Is Well!"

By Dr. J.C. Matthews, Senior Pastor of Dunamis Life Ministries and Chancellor of The International Kingdom Institute.

Waiting On Something To Move

"Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is
called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In
these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt,
withered, waiting for the moving of the water. And a certain man
was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years."
John 5:2-5, KJV

I can remember driving home one night from work when I caught a
flat tire. I didn't have a cell phone, flashlight or spare tire.
There I was, on the side of the highway praying that someone
would stop and help me get to a phone. I sat inside of my car
with my flashers on for over three hours waiting for someone to
stop. I will always remember the helpless feeling of being
totally dependant upon the benevolence of a stranger.

Finally, someone did stop and agreed to give me a ride to a phone.
I was in his car for less than 5 minutes. To my surprise, there
was a payphone less than a half a mile away that I could have
easily walked too. I waited hours for someone to do what I
could've done for myself.

In the text, Jesus recognized a certain man who has been infirm
for over 38 years. Jesus picked him out from a multitude of
what the Bible describes as "impotent folk". Maybe Jesus
recognized him from the many years He and His parents would go
to Jerusalem to observe the various feasts. Maybe, his specific
condition was such that it drew attention to itself. However, I
believe the reason Jesus singled him out from the crowd was
Jesus saw something within the man that the man didn't see within
himself. There are three lessons we must take from this text
that will cause us to overcome the things that have kept us from
experiencing wholeness in our lives.

First, this man's infirmity had become his identity. The Bible
gives us his condition, but never gives us his name. We must be
careful not to allow our problems, issues, situations or weaknesses
to define who we are. It is possible for you to deal with
something for so long that it begins to determine who you are
and what you strive for in life. As a result, you lower your
expectations and settle for much less than what God has planned
for your life.

Secondly, sometimes those around us fortify our infirmity.
Oftentimes, our immobility is in part due to the company we keep.
People are more willing to tell you what you can't do as opposed
to what you can do. They kill any dreams you may have of moving
on by telling you all of the risks involved with the move, instead
of encouraging you to take a leap of faith. The reason many of
them do this is because they fear that you just may succeed at
what they were afraid to attempt. Often, deliverance is found in
doing what others around you have never done and risking the
possibility of failure.

Finally, Jesus saw and knew his condition. Jesus knows exactly
what you are going through and how long you've been going through
it. He knows the desires of your heart and wants you to realize
them. However, He allows us to experience the disappointment and
frustration of relying on other to do what we must trust God to
do. When this man's hope in others exhausted God stepped in.
Jesus did in a moment what he and others couldn't do over a 38
year period of time.

Are you waiting on something to move in your life before you
attempt to achieve it? The Bible says this man waited 38 years
for something to move, remaining in the same impotent condition.
Jesus is saying the same thing to us He said to the man at the
pool; "If you want to reach a dream or goal in your life, stop
waiting on someone to help you achieve it- "Get up and ... walk!

By Dr. J.C. Matthews, Senior Pastor of Dunamis Life Ministries and
Chancellor of The International Kingdom Institute.

You Must First "Be" What You Hope To Become

"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have
I made thee." Genesis 17:4-5, KJV

I can remember when I began to write my first book. I
felt as if God was leading me to do it, but I wasn't sure
of how to start. I had never written a book before and did
not personally know anyone who had done so themselves. As
I considered actually doing it, doubt and fear ran through
my mind saying, "No one knows who you are. What do you have
to say that hasn't already been said? Who do you think you
are? As these thoughts went through my mind, I heard God
say, "I'll tell you who you are, - you are an "author".
Now get started writing!"

At that moment I realized something that revolutionized the
way in which I approached achieving the things in life I
hoped to achieve. I realized, in order to become an author
I had to first do what authors do. I had to first write. If
I had waited for someone to declare me an author before I
began writing, I would have never authored my first book.
Part of my ''being" what I was seeking to "become", I began
to read as much as I could about the publishing process,
and went to industry events that authors frequented, so I
could familiarize myself with that environment. I had to
"be it" before I could ever "become it".

There are some promises and opportunities in life you cannot
afford to wait until they present themselves to begin the
process of preparing for them. You must be ready for your
moment when it comes. You must become so pregnant and
possessed with your promise that when your moment comes you
are able and ready to deliver. You must position and prepare
yourself to operate at the level you intend to occupy before you
actually occupy it. If you practice being what you hope to
become, when the opportunity arises, you won't be intimidated
by it because you have already prepared for it.

So many people fail to realize what they hope for because
they believe that they must wait until everything is in place
before they attempt to accomplish anything. They want all of
their resources and support in place first and leave no room
for faith in God. Because this ideal rarely materializes, they
allow their hopes to go unrealized and are unprepared for the
opportunities that do present themselves.

This is backwards. In the Kingdom of God "we walk by faith and
not by sight" (2 Corinthians. 5:7). "Faith is the substance of
things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen"
(Hebrews 11:1). Anything that God places in your heart to
accomplish you already possess the substance necessary to cause
it to manifest in your life. You must believe that whatever God
has promised you already exists and is yours before you actually
possess it. Just because you can't see it (yet) doesn't mean
it doesn't exist. If God said it - it's already done!

Oftentimes in the Bible, when God spoke a promise concerning a
person He spoke it in the past tense. When God told Abraham
that his name would no longer be "Abram" but "Abraham", because
He had made him the father of many nations, Abraham was still
childless! Did God lie? Never! God was simply revealing to
him what He had already done. In order for Abraham to receive
his promise he had to operate within his promise. Every time
Sarah called him "Abraham" he was reminded of who God had made
him - the "father of many nations".

What is it that you are hoping will manifest in your life? You
must be what you're becoming because transformation is the
precursor to manifestation.

By Dr. J.C. Matthews, Senior Pastor of Dunamis Life Ministries and Chancellor of The International Kingdom Institute.