The Test of Faith

When Jesus says, “ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH BE IT UNTO YOU,” what does that mean to you?

The dominant theme in Jesus’ teaching appears to be FAITH as a determining factor for obtaining our heart’s desires. Jesus’ emphasis on faith as the basis for receiving is so strong that he once said that with faith as little as the mustard seed, we can command the mountain to move and it shall be removed. This symbolism explains the simplicity and yet efficacy of faith.

Faith is the only thing God honours. Complaint, worry, anxiety, murmuring, weeping, despair, etc do not move God so much as your faith in his ability and power to turn things around for your good. The Bible says: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrew 11:6).

In receiving from God, your faith may be tested. Do you really have the faith to obtain your heart’s desires? The way to determine whether you merit what you are asking for is that your faith has to be tested.

Many years ago when prospective miners went out looking for gold, they took with them certain acid which they used to test any object they found. Any time they found anything that looked like gold, they would pour a little drop of the acid on it. If it melted the object, then that object was not gold. But if the object didn’t melt, then it was gold.

The Test

The test of faith begins the moment you start exercising your faith. You may not get what you desire instantly. Instead of improving, things may start going from bad to worse. At such a time, what will you do? Will you give up your faith and quit?

It is important to note that anything that may cause you to doubt God’s power or God’s love for you could be the test of your faith. This test could come from your friends, relations, family, people, your enemies, and from satan and his agents.

As long as they tend to cause you to doubt God’s power and love, they are tests of your faith. But how you react to these tests go a long way in determining whether you will obtain your heart’s desire or not.  

 

The Purpose of the Test

Everything that happens in our lives, including both the bad and the ugly, are arranged to work for our GOOD. All unpleasant situations that seem to threaten and weaken our faith are tests of our faith.

At school, students are made to take examinations regularly. These examinations are meant to determine the extent to which students have grasped what they have been taught. Those that pass the examinations are promoted while those that fail the examinations are asked to re-sit the paper or repeat the class as the case may be.

Like examinations, all things that happen in our lives serve as tests of our faith. The purpose of every test is PROMOTION. But how you react to the test determines your promotion or demotion.

In the book of Daniel, we read how Daniel kept praying and the answer to his prayer was not forthcoming. But he kept praying. At a point, an angel of God appeared to him and assured him that God had answered his prayers the first day he prayed, but that the Prince of Persia (satan) withstood him 21 days and prevented him from bringing the answered prayers to him (Daniel) until Angel Michael came to his rescue.

Lessons for Victorious Living

 There are vital lessons to learn from Daniel’s experience:

1.     The moment you pray the prayer of faith, God answers you. But as said earlier, the test of faith will come and it would appear God has refused to answer. As you can see from Daniel’s experience, it is not that God refuses to answer you. It may be that satan has intercepted your answered prayer.

2.     Another lesson to learn from here is that Daniel did not get discouraged or frustrated when the answers to his prayers were not forthcoming. Rather, he kept praying until he got what he wanted. That is what it takes to pass the test of faith.

Like Daniel, when you pray and exercise your faith and you don’t get the answer instantly; when you pray and exercise faith and yet it appears the situation is going from bad to worse, you don’t have to be discouraged. Keep praying. The delay is really a test of your faith. You will pass the test if you don’t give up.

THE FAITH THAT BRINGS ANSWERED PRAYER IS THE FAITH THAT GETS STRONGER WHEN THE ANSWER IS NOT FORTHCOMING. Jesus’ message that we should pray and not faint remains relevant even when we are undergoing a test of faith.

3.     Another lesson to learn here is that after every test comes promotion. It was after 21 days’ delay that Daniel got answers to his prayers. Delay is not denial. Don’t get discouraged when the answers to your prayers are delayed.

Rather, your faith should get stronger and stronger until you obtain answers to your prayers. Please read Luke 18:1-9 and be motivated to pray and not faint till you get what you desire. As Elizabeth Elliot said: “TRUE FAITH ONLY GOES INTO OPERATION WHEN THERE ARE NO ANSWERS.”

Let every test of your faith inspire you to be better and victorious every day of your life!

SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE NEWSLETTER TODAY!

 

Internet Opportunities: How to Create Endless Fortunes from Online Businesses

One of the greatest lessons I learned over the years is that when you get yourself involved in a worthwhile project or anything that will benefit humanity, you open the dark world to the world of endless opportunities.

When the Internet was first launched years ago (it was then called ARPANET), the stakeholders and the IT experts had a purpose in mind. They invented the internet as a means of sharing vital information that would lead to enthronement of peace worldwide.

They actually succeeded but more importantly the Internet later opened the entire world to endless opportunities.

The Internet now provides thousands of money making opportunities to all and sundry. If you are conversant with the Internet or you normally browse the web, I am sure you will agree with me that millions of people are making fortunes in countless ways online.

Although the stakeholders and the IT experts involved in the invention of the Internet never contemplated or imagined these endless opportunities, their effort at making the world a conducive place to live in has ushered in endless opportunities. This reminds me of the observation of a great motivational speaker and writer who said, ‘The great dream of great dreamers are never fulfilled; they are surpassed.’

Dear reader, there is a great lesson to learn from the impact of the Internet on the world. We are created to contribute positively to the betterment of the world. Every positive contribution you make – big or little – is bound to create endless opportunities to humanity. You also stand to benefit greatly from the endless opportunities.

Dear reader, what is the worthwhile project you wish to embark upon? What positive contribution can you make towards the progress of mankind?

Now is the time to launch out. Don’t keep procrastinating any more. If you realize the manifold opportunities you are denying yourself and humanity, you would not dare waste a minute to start.

The way to launch out is to start from where you are and with what you have. Don’t wait until you get all the money or until all the obstacles are removed before you start. People who wait until all obstacles are removed end up achieving little or nothing in life.

Remember, Internet was first launched on a small scale. It was started from the scratch and as time went on, they started improving and expanding on it. Today, Internet is now beneficial to all and sundry.

Like the Internet, just start from where you are and with what you have. Don’t be afraid of starting small. All the big corporations and multinational companies in the world started small. So, you should start small and as time goes on, you can expand.

For every product or service you want to produce, there are people out there waiting for it. For every shop you open, for every factory you establish and for every business you set up, there are customers that will patronize you. You only need to start from where you are and with what you can afford at the moment. 

Equally important is the quality of the product or service you render to humanity. If you want to be a market leader or you want to last in the market, you should concentrate on offering high quality product or service.

If a person buys your product or service and he is not satisfied with the quality, he becomes a bad advertiser of your product or service. And he may never patronize you again nor encourage people to do same.

The only way to retain your customers and attract more patronage is to always offer quality product or service.

80 Online Jobs/Opportunities

Dear reader, Internet has created endless opportunities for us all. Many people are already benefiting from it. Now, you can also be a beneficiary of these opportunities. Just visit my paid blog by clicking here now: www.centreforvictoriousliving.com/category/make-money-online

 Till I come your way soon, go and live victoriously!

Eight Qualities Men are Looking for in a woman

Over the years, researchers have revealed certain qualities men are looking for in a woman of their choice. Among these qualities are the following:

1.   Genuine Love 

Men want a wife who will genuinely love them. They want a woman that will love them not because of the money they have, but because of the genuine love she has for them. They don’t want a woman that will love them when the going is good and hate them when the going is bad.

2.   Godliness 

Men want a woman that is godly. They want a God-fearing woman, a woman they can trust, that is submissive and who they can be proud of.

It is common to find men who are not so morally upright marrying women who have high level of morality. Even criminals want to marry morally upright and godly women.

3.      Career Woman

 

Men want a career woman. They want a woman who has a regular source of income. Such a woman may be a professional, a trader, a business woman or a salary earner. These days, men are not that interested in having a full-time housewife. They prefer a wife who has a source of income and who contributes financially for the upkeep of the family.

And this is good on the part of the woman as she don’t have to wait for her husband all the time to provide the basic items she needs. There will be less friction in respect of financial matters where the wife is also an income earner.

4.   Faithfulness 

Men want a woman who is faithful, who they can trust and who is not wayward. Men, for instance, may be womanisers, but they don’t want their wife to go out with other men. For many men, a slight suspicion that their wife is cheating out on them is enough to cause serious problem between them.

5.   Cleanliness 

Men are more attracted to a woman that is clean in appearance, neat and well-dressed. Mariam Ba once wrote, “Cleanliness is one of the essential qualities of a woman." A clean woman is more likely to get the attention of men than an untidy woman.

6.   Good Housekeeping 

Men want a wife that will be a good housekeeper. Anytime they arrive home and meet their wife at home, they expect everything to be in order and the house kept clean and tidy. 

7.   Submissiveness 

By God’s standard, men are head of the family. As such, they prefer a woman that will be submissive to them. They don’t want a woman that will compete with them as head of the family. Where there are two heads in the home, there is bound to be some element of conflicts. Where a woman is submissive enough, all other things being equal, there may be peace in the home.

8.   Beauty

Men are primarily attracted to a woman’s physical attraction. And they want to have a beautiful wife. Note, however, that as Shakespeare said, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”

Worthy of consideration also is the inner quality of kindness, good manner and good character. Any beauty that is devoid of inner beauty may make the marital success an illusion. This is because, in the final analysis, what men are looking for in a woman is the inner beauty and not necessarily physical attraction.