Activate Your Faith

There are often those situations that come in and are a test from God about the level of faith you truly have. On April 10, 2009 my poppa finally got to meet God face to face. I was right by his hospital bed holding his hand. He didn’t struggle or move. He just went peacefully in his sleep. There is a huge piece of me that can’t mourn his death. He lived a good life and served as an example of faith on a daily basis. My poppa had cancer for 8 years. 8 years. That’s a long time to live with a terminal disease. Up until a year ago he still went out and golfed every now and then. He even got recognized by the Cancer Center of America for being a cancer survivor. I have to think that acknowledgement was not that of his body that was slowly giving way to this illness but that of his spirit that was a survivor. It still is a survivor.

That was all because of my poppa’s faith. Even in illness he never confessed that he was sick. To confess means to acknowledge one’s belief in something. Once something comes out of your mouth whether you mean it or not you have acknowledged belief in it. That is why our words are so important.

James 3:3-5 states: “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,
we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and
are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot
wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a
world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole
course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

When we confess something our body gets in line with what we say. We like to say that our actions control what we do but where do our actions come from? Our thoughts. Where does what we confess come from? Our thoughts. Until we get our thoughts in order, our mouths will never confess the right things but that’s a whole other story. When we don’t speak the right things into the atmosphere our very being gets corrupted.

I know someone is thinking, “Well your poppa confessed the right things and he still died.” That’s very true. He did. But I have to believe it was his time to go. Death is imminent for us all. No one’s confession can keep them from dying. But what if his confessions were the reason why he lived a little longer? His confession let him see his first great grandchild born. It allowed him to share a little more wisdom. There was so much that he didn’t miss because of his confession. It reminds me of Daniel 3 where when the three Hebrew boys were facing death by furnace for not bowing to the king said this,

“O, Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we
are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he
will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O
king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Their faith and confession changed the outcome of the decree of the king. But if they had lacked faith or confessed their deaths, you better believe we would’ve had some burnt up Hebrew boys and the entire book of Daniel would read much different.

I am becoming much better at tailoring what I say. It can be difficult at times but I am definitely seeing the results. Daniel and the Hebrew boys left a legacy of faith. My poppa left a legacy of faith. What legacy will you leave?

On a lighter note, I wonder what my poppa’s first question to God was when he got to heaven. I know I have a ton of questions for Him.