By Dr. Johnnie Blount
Standing Firm When the Heavens Seem Like Brass
For the last five or six years, I have walked through trials and tribulations I never imagined I would face. Every believer has something or someone in their life that makes them vulnerable, that tests the depth of their faith. I never believed I would see the day my wife would be diagnosed with cancer.
Watching someone you love suffer is a bitter pill to swallow. Your mind races back to the miracles you’ve witnessed—the healings you’ve been part of, the words of knowledge and wisdom the Lord gave you to bless others and elevate their lives. You pray. Then you make your affirmations. Last, you meditate on the Word day and night. And still, the heavens seem like brass. That’s when we have to stand and have faith in the furnace.
The Word Is Powerful
The enemy cannot defeat us. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Hebrews 2:14 tells us that through death, Jesus made powerless “him who had the power of death—that is, the devil” (AMP). So saints, I believe the Word regardless of my trials, tribulations, or persecution. I know the Word does not change. When I embrace the Word, I embrace what gives us eternal life. The Word declares that if we believe, we shall be made righteous. If this Word has the power to redeem me from sin and the curse of the law, then I know it has the power to sustain me now. Because of my belief in the Word, I know my wife Donis and I are both healthy, wealthy, and prosperous in all our ways.
We Walk By Faith, God Has Not Abandoned Us
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we walk by faith, not by sight. My friends, walking by sight will kill you. It causes fear and doubt. It makes you believe your heavenly Father has abandoned you. We are determined. I will stand in faith and not be moved by what I see.
I remember another time when I had to do this. When my son was born blind—without pupils or eardrums. It was agonizing to hold him daily, looking into his eyes, knowing that without a healing, he would never see me or hear me. It takes faith to hold on in the midst of the storm, to keep your confession even when fear torments your mind. I had to keep speaking my affirmations, talking to myself: “Johnnie Blount, if you let go of your faith, what will your son have?” I had to continue the good fight of faith.
After We Have Done Everything, All We Can Do Is Stand
There were moments when all we could do was cry and stand. I searched the Word daily for a rhema word—something to help me with my fear and hurt. Sometimes condemnation rushed in like a tidal wave. I felt it tossing my faith back and forth. My mind returned to Romans 8:38-39. “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?” Yet condemnation reminded me of things I’d done wrong. I found myself repenting over and over for things God had already forgiven. Even though I knew there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
I had to come back to the Word. I stood on: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
To God Be The Glory
Within five years my son was able to see and hear. The doctors were amazed and admitted it was a miracle. Today he is married and has three children. He’s working for an international ministry, and living a healthy, normal life.
Remember this—midnight only lasts for a moment. Every hurricane runs out of energy. Every storm runs out of rain. There is nothing in this life or the life to come that is greater than the power dwelling within us. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. Christ is bigger and greater than sickness, cancer, trials, tribulations—even death itself. All we have to do is endure for this season.
If you are facing a fiery trial, keep your faith in the furnace! The war in the mind is real, and so is the victory!
Confess the Word
They key to victory is the Word. It has to become part of us. Of course we are reading it daily. We also confess or speak it daily. Then that leads to meditating on the Word. Here are some of my favorite confessions.
Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is the light of my salvation; whom shall I fear?” I refuse to be afraid of darkness, shadows, or vain imaginations. We must hold fast, knowing that if God is for us, it doesn’t matter who or what is against us.
In Psalm 27:13-14, David declared, “I have chosen to believe in the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” I will be patient and wait on His kindness and mercy to manifest in my life on this side of the Jordan.
For more…
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