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February 8, 2010 God, You Said…!Over forty years of marriage, but the beginning was not that easy. One of my mentors shared the story of her relationship with her husband. She said when I met him God spoke to my spirit and made it clear that he was the man He had chosen to be my husband. Well if God said it you would assume that He would tell all the parties involved. The truth is we will never know if He did or if He didn’t. She went on to share with me what happened. She told this potential suitor what God had told her about their relationship, but he did not receive it. She shared with me his denial of what she was sharing, his rejection of her to the point of not only telling her no, but laughing in her face and making a joke about it with his friends. To anyone that has experienced rejection you know how difficult this had to be, but it got worse. He not only rejected her by saying it would never happen, he also told her that she was ugly. Imagine the pain that must have caused her. Imagine how we would feel. What do you do in that situation? How do you respond? If you read the opening statement you know that they did get married and had two children. They have been happily married for over 40 years and have pastored a church together. You wonder how she did it? The only way she could do it by trusting God and allowing Him to work out the situation and change the heart of the man He had told her would be her husband. His heart was not won by anything she tried to force to happen, it was done on her knees in the prayer closet, it was done through her faith and trust in God, it was done through her obedience. She told me, “Angela, if God said it, I can walk on water.” Imagine the kind of faith that it takes to be able to stand in that kind of situation. Imagine being laughed at and called ugly, by the man God said would be your husband, and not allowing it to create a root of bitterness in your heart and spirit. Imagine not saying God forget it, I don’t care, I don’t want this. This awesome woman of God stood her ground in faith, in spite of the pain and hurt that her future husband’s words caused, because she trusted God. A friend shared with me that stuff like that will happen, but he told me, how we respond is what is important. His exact words to me were don’t embrace it! Don’t embrace the lies of the enemy or the nonsense he throws at you. Don’t embrace the hurt feelings or the anger. Let it roll off your back or bounce off of your breastplate of righteousness. Keep doing what you know you are supposed to be doing undeterred by the tricks of the enemy. If you want to avoid getting caught up in the web of the enemy, do not embrace the attacks. Don’t go to bed with or fall in love with the lie, continue to hold on to God’s truth, God’s promise. Continue to trust God. Remember what I told you she said, “If God said it, I believe it and I can walk on water.” The truth is that if God said it, you can trust His word and you can walk on water also. The only thing that will mess you up in that situation is taking your eyes off of God and putting them on the situation. In her case the situation, was what her future husband was saying, the rejection. The truth was that she could not listen to him. A friend once gave me the same advice, stop listening to them. The enemy is using them to confuse you and get you off the mark. The friend was the daughter of the woman we have been writing about in this article. She learned from her mother a great lesson on trusting God and not doubting despite what things my look like. The enemy of your future and mine, the enemy of our purpose wants us to embrace his lies. Everything that speaks contrary to what God told you is a lie. You may or may not know the story of Peter and his short walk on water. People have a tendency to judge Peter, but the truth is I don’t think Peter is much different than many of us. He started out well trusting, but he faltered, when he took his eyes off of Jesus. I don;t know about you, but it has happened to me also. In Matthew 14:24-32, 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning[a] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here![b]”28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong[c] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” I don’t know about you, but I have not always been as strong as my mentor. Jesus has had to speak to me on occasion, “why did you doubt me”. My prayer is to have the kind of faith that my mentor has so I too can walk on water. I want to walk on water every single time without faltering. I don’t know what God has told you. I don’t know what he has spoken to your spirit, but the truth is that He has spoken something over each one of us. Embrace what God said and tell the enemy that he is a liar. Keep your eyes on Jesus and not the storm of your situation. As long as you keep your eyes on Jesus, like my mentor and Peter you will be able to walk on water. Keep trusting God. I don’t know what God said to you, but if He said it, go ahead and walk on water. Scripture: Matthew 14:24-32:
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