Confident Assurance

Joyce Meyer, who is one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers, according to her book, and author of almost 100 books, is writing about the topic of indecision in the section titled ‘The Misery of Indecision’ in chapter 3 of her book ‘Making Good Habits, Breaking Bad Habits’.

I found the section in italics that is pasted at the very bottom of this piece interesting and I pulled out some of the key points and show them immediately below. These are things that God is teaching us in the book of James.

·         We should ask God for what we need, wisdom for example

·         Ask in faith with no wavering

·         If we waver in our faith we don’t get what we ask from God

·         The indecisive person will be miserable, confused and unable to get God’s help

·         We should approach God in faith and be ready to take action

·         God may not provide direction so he is giving us the freedom to make our own choice

The ideas of faith, decisiveness and confidence were reinforced for me this past weekend. A number of us attended a fund raiser held at a church my wife and I previously attended and was held for a local ministry. The pastor of the church who is now 20 years older than when we attended did not speak until the end of the program when he offered the closing prayer.

This pastor’s heart for people, which has always been visible, was in evidence when I heard him pray at the end of the program and ask for God’s blessing on the ministry, the people aided by the ministry and the supporters and volunteers. I was struck by his calmness and confidence that God would answer his prayer. It was reassuring and comforting. It is evident that he serves God and depends on God to bless his church and this ministry.

I have learned much about being a Christ follower from those whose words match their actions, like this pastor, and especially when those words are Biblically inspired and used to glorify God.

If you haven’t yet, then learn to learn from those who have a strong personal relationship with God and are committed to helping and teaching you and others as well as building God’s kingdom. They model what Christ modeled and that is what we should do.

Excerpt from the book

‘The apostle James, being directed by the Holy Spirit, teaches that if we need wisdom we are to ask for it, and God will give it. Only it must be in faith that we ask with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). If we do waver, hesitate or doubt we become unstable and unreliable in all of our ways and we are unable to receive from the Lord anything we ask for (James 1:5-8). These Scriptures make the position of the indecisive person quite clear. He is going to be miserable, confused, and unable to get help from God. We must approach God in faith, ready to take action when we have assurance in our heart of some direction. If after prayer and waiting we still feel that we have no direction, then it may mean that God is simply giving us the freedom to make our own choice’.