He Hears Faith

Its been a while but God has just been leading me to start writing again. Here is what he gave me today. My family and I are is the final two weeks of our TTA/Staff show at Spiritual Twist Productions. It is always a busy time where I find myself clinging to God more and more. Come next week and see two of the kids and I in STP's production of Esther! 

https://tickets.spiritualtwist.com/

He Hears Faith

While studying the book of Esther in depth I have been discovering more questions than I thought I would. Most of the questions that I am asking surround what Esther must have been thinking at different moments in the story.

Today I read the passage about how Esther told the king about Haman and the evil plot against the Jews. The questions that popped into my head today were what thoughts must have been running through her head and how was she feeling?

Here she had hidden her true identity for several years. No one except Mordecai knew she was of Jewish heritage. She was getting ready to reveal who she truly was. She was getting ready to drop a bombshell. Not only was she Jewish but her life was also in danger.

She had spent 3 days before the feet of God praying and seeking his will. That was the only way she was able to do what she did. She was relying on God to strengthen her and keep her safe. Fasting always involves prayer. That is its purpose. There is no other purpose to fast.

It was in her fasting that she realized that she could not her true identity any longer. Her identity – Jewish. Proclaiming that she was Jewish meant that she would be aligned with God. The One True God. She was not just proclaiming that she was Jewish, she was proclaiming her faith in God.

How often do I forget who I truly am? How many times have I denied Christ by simply doing what Esther did, saying nothing? Remaining silent. How often do I simply go along with the world and its ways instead of boldly proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ?

Am I different than the world around me? Can people tell that I am different? Can people see Christ in me?

I too often forger that I am a child of Christ. I have been adopted into his family and this world is no longer my home.

I allow myself grow weary in the day to day living. I allow the enemy to discourage me forgetting that I have been created to bring glory to God’s name. That the war has already been won. That God is for me and everything he allows is for my good. Even the hard times. The times when I am weary and down and defeated.

It is in those moments that I draw closer to him. I have had a rough few weeks. It just seems like I am being attacked more each day. Some of the fiery darts of our enemy have hurt me deep. Words are one of the things I love. My love language is words and I write daily. There have been words said to me the past few weeks that have been like daggers to my heart. They have hurt me deeply. I have been fighting discouragement and depression. I have had to cling to the Word of God and fill my mind with worship songs. It has been a raging battle.

I am doing the work that God has called me to, and the enemy is attacking me and trying to make me ineffective. It has been hard. This morning I was sobbing in the car listening to worship music and crying out to God. I had tears streaming down my face and I was singing at the top of my lungs. It sounded awful but it was my praise to God.

One song has been on repeat this week. I have been playing it over and over again because it is a balm for my soul. Awake My Soul by Hillsong Worship. It is not normally something I listen to but this week it has been exactly what I needed to hear. Some of the lyrics are:

There is a sound I love to hear
It's the sound of the Saviour's robe
As He walks into the room where people pray
Where we hear praises He hears faith

There is a sound I love to hear
It's the sound of the Saviour's robe
As He walks into the room where people pray
Where we hear worship He hears faith

Awake my soul and sing
Sing His praise aloud
Sing His praise aloud

And when He moves
And when we pray
Where stood a wall now stands a way
Where every promise is amen

And when He moves
Make no mistake
The bowels of hell begin to shake
All hail the Lord, all hail the King

The phrase “Where we hear worship, He hears faith” is something I just have not been able to get out of my head. This morning through the tears and heartache I felt, God heard faith. Each time I am prone to discouragement and I still cling to his Words, He hears faith. In the middle of the night when I am awake praying, He hears faith. The times when I set aside my own needs and desires to love on a child who needs it, He hears faith. When my body is physically hurting and I still get on stage and perform for His glory, He hears faith. When I write and share words that are raw and real letting the world into my hurt and struggles, He hears faith. When I want to climb back under the covers and yet I rise to begin my day in His word, he hears faith. When I hear words that hurt yet forgive and try to forget, loving that person instead, He hears faith. When I realize my own sin and confess and repent, He hears faith.

He gets all the glory. He sees my life and when I cling to Him, He hears faith.

He heard it in Esther’s life. When she proclaimed who she truly was He heard faith.

Our enemy hears it too and he is shaken. Just like Haman was. It says that he pleaded for his life and was in despair. That is what is going to happen to our enemy. One day he will stand before God and be cast into eternal punishment. Our enemy is grasping at straws. He can attack and discourage us, but he cannot win. The war has been fought and won when Jesus rose from the grave. I need to fall at the foot of the cross every day to remind myself of who I truly am. A child of the King of Kings.  What is he hearing in me every day? My prayer is that He hears my faith loud and clear.