Faith in the Time of Testing!

Have you ever experienced a faith testing time in your life? Recently, I had gone to the doctor because swelling and aches and pains. My doctor was perplexed because of the blood tests that kept coming up abnormal. The primary doctor referred me to an arthritis specialist. This doctor ran more blood tests and started me on a course of meds for inflammation.
Later, that week I received a call from the arthritis specialist referring me to a blood specialist ( aka oncologist) due to some abnormal cells in my blood. Alarm bells started sounding in my head. Of course the devil tried hard to remind me that all my female relatives and several male relatives had battled and lost to cancer. I had to remind myself that I was healed and whole in Jesus' name. Sickness and disease had no control over me!
In the mist of this trying time, I started to praise God for being awesome in my life and for His goodness and mercy, while waiting for my appointment date with the oncologist.
The initial meeting with the oncologist was upbeat and hopeful. He did not seem to think there was much to be concerned about. As a precaution he drew more blood and set a follow up appointment in two weeks to go over the test results.
Two weeks later, I returned to the oncologist and he expressed great concern for multiple myeloma due to the discrepancy in the test results. This news led to a scheduling of a bone marrow biospy to check for an increased amount of plasma cells in the bone marrow.
In the mean time I had to fill my spirit with the word of God and surround myself with music that allowed me to worship and focus on God. I knew that God was with me while I walked through this test.
Today was good news from the oncologist. My bone marrow test came back negative for multiple myeloma. Praise God for deliverance! He is faithful when we stand in faith!

Laying Isaac Down!

In Gen.22 God asked Abraham to do something that most parents would not do. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him as a brunt offering. The word does not tell us that Abraham cried, pleaded or begged God to give something else. This leads us to believe that Abraham did not question God, but set out with his son to go to the place that God had prepared.

There will come a time in the life of the believer that God will test us and ask us to sacrifice the thing that we love. It might not be a child in the literally sense, but a child none the less. Something that we carried inside of us and gave birth to, and watched it grow. The child could be a dream, a business or a ministry.

Can we trust God with that thing that is precious to us? Do we truly believe that God will not ask of us something that cost us dearly if he did not have something better waiting? In verse 17 God told Abraham that he would bless him and multiple his descendants because Abraham obeyed God.

What represents your Isaac? Are you wiling to lay your Isaac down if God asked you? Do you trust God?