God Works with Faith
This message has been on my heart for some time. I want to share it, because in 2025 we will need to start off with our faith being high. I really sense that the Lord is going to break barriers for us all. But the one thing that the Lord really works with is our faith. Failure can be a giant that blocks our vision and steals our hope for the future. It can create fear and panic, hijack our faith, and keep us circling a mountain that feels too difficult to move. But failure doesn't have to be fatal!
Did you know, when you are struggling with failure, that most likely you are also in a battle with the enemy? Many people don't see failure as a battle, but it can be! This is because failure can lock us down, it can be devastating, and it can rob us of our destiny if we stay there. And if there is a fear of failure, it's even worse. Fear of failure will keep us from getting up and trying again. Failure does not have to be fatal, unless we allow it to be!
Let us remember that Israel's failure to conquer their giant of fear was fatal because they couldn't believe God and what He had promised them. Yes, failure threatened Israel. Potential failure stared them down. They saw the size of their giants and they were afraid they would fail in battle.
There was an even bigger giant than the actual giants in the land they faced—the giant of fear! They feared they might fail! If you have ever failed in life, you know how devastating it is. The Lord had everyone in that generation wander in the wilderness for forty years until they died out so that an entirely new generation could cross over in faith and defeat the giants in their promised land. Failure was so powerful that God knew it wouldn't help to send them in again; their hearts were now hardened to the promises of God. They failed to fight, and their failure was fatal. They didn't know how to connect with the POWER that was available to them! But it doesn't have to be that way for us.
You Can Take Your Land of Promise!
Here is a key for you. If you have a fear of failure, let me assure you that you are not alone. We all have a promised land to possess, but there is also a battle to fight. If you are battling failure and fear of failure, I want to teach you today how to slay the giant that is standing before you. I want to show you the power that is available to you when you are determined to slay the giants in your life. Let me assure you that you are well able to take your land of promise!
One of my favorite Scriptures is Jeremiah 29:11–14: "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the Lord..." (NASB1995).
God wants to restore us. He wants to give you and me hope for today. He has a great future planned, but again, we can get locked down in our failures.
Many times, if we have dealt with failure, especially if we have given in to sin, we feel we have failed God. In Jeremiah's message, God reassures us that it is not His desire to punish us, but His plan is to bless us.
The steps to overcoming are in this Scripture (Jeremiah 29:11–14). He wants us to call upon Him, He wants us to pray, and He promises to hear us when we do. When we fail, we become ashamed, and therefore we run from God. But it is clear that God wants us to run to Him, and He will restore us. (Photo via Pexels)
Dear ones, "failure" is a name, and it has to bow its knee to the name of Jesus! Amen!
Don't Allow Disappointments to Keep You from Divine Appointments
Dear ones, I pray that this will give you hope so that you can overcome failure and get your vision back for 2025. There is no doubt that failure is connected to disappointment. Every one of us has a divine destiny to fulfill, but failure and disappointment can steal our vision and even hijack our belief system. The enemy would like nothing more than for us to doubt God and also doubt ourselves.
Every one of you has been appointed by the Lord to do something for the Kingdom of God. Whether you are in ministry, in the marketplace, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter... we each are appointed.
The Lord spoke to me one day not too long ago and said, "Don't allow your disappointments to cause you to miss your divine appointment." That word from the Lord is not only for me but for you as well. You are appointed to have divine appointments with destiny! But please don't allow your failures to cause you to miss your divine appointments.
God's Response to the Failure Mindset
Jeremiah was dwelling on his disappointments:
• I am only a child
• I don't speak well
• I have a handicap
• I feel like a failure in life
• I am not old enough
• I am not good enough
• I am not educated
• You know, Lord, I tried to do that once and I failed; I can't
Jeremiah 1:7–8 says, "But the Lord told me: 'Do not say, "I am only a child." For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you'" (BSB).
God is reassuring us today to not be afraid of failing. We need never fear failure but must always try again. We must renew our minds daily to what God says about us. And remember that when we try and we do not succeed, He is there to rescue us and deliver us.
The Hebrew word for deliver is natsal, meaning "to deliver" (Strong's H5337). But it is further translated as "without fail," meaning no failure in this: He will not only deliver, rescue, and provide an escape from fear and fear of this failure, but He will also recover for us, meaning the spoils of war. So here we have this idea that God is saying, Don't focus on your weaknesses, your failures, because I'm promising you that I am going to war for you. You will face this giant of fear of failure and slay him and reap the spoils of battle!
Moses' Doubts
Moses doubted his ability to lead God's people out of Egypt. When God spoke to him through the burning bush, it was the first glimpse of God's glory. There was more glory to be seen and demonstrated, and God wanted to use Moses to be the one to show forth that glory! But, if you recall, Moses tried to talk God out of using him. He had excuses similar to Jeremiah's! (Photo via Pixabay)
Let's take a quick look at those excuses:
• I'm not good enough. "...Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11, NKJV).
• I don't have all the answers. "Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they say to me, "What is His name?" what shall I say to them?'" (Exodus 3:13, NKJV).
• People won't believe me. "Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you"'" (Exodus 4:1, NKJV).
• I'm not a good public speaker. "Then Moses said to the LORD, 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue'" (Exodus 4:10, NKJV).
• I'm not qualified. "But he said, 'O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send'" (Exodus 4:13, NKJV).
These were the responses of Moses, and yet, at one time, he was treated as royalty in Egypt (being raised as a prince for forty years). However, after being exiled and living in the desert for forty years, his confidence levels plummeted. The wilderness has a way of humbling a person, right? But maybe after forty years of palace luxury, Moses truly needed a desert to prepare him to be used by God in a powerful way! He was no longer leading great armies; his responsibilities were reduced to tending the sheep in a lonely desert between Egypt and Canaan. As he had once felt confident and secure in Egypt, his confidence was now low, and he was suffering from chronic insecurity!
Leave Behind All Your Excuses
Many of us, including myself, have used these same excuses. But God seems to close His ears to our excuses. He loves using those who feel unqualified and insecure. His desire is for us to completely depend on Him in everything! We all know this story: Moses learned to follow God's lead and to trust Him. He was empowered by the I Am to lead Israel out of Egypt, cross the Red Sea on dry ground, and then lead them in the wilderness for the next forty years.
Yes, the Moses of Exodus chapters three and four is the same person—the very same man which shows incredible courage and complete obedience through strength of character only a few chapters later.
Listen, and do not forget this: God works with each of us right where we are and takes us to wherever He wants us to be! Our part is to be willing to leave behind all of our excuses!
Let God Fight the Giants of Failure
I want you to receive this. Right now, God is executing judgment on the enemy of discouragement, disappointment, and mindsets connected to failure and fears of failure! Right now, His hand is upon you to destroy doubt and fear! And He is putting HIS words into your mouth! No longer will you speak negatively; no longer will you respond out of fears or from past failure.
God is also promising to fight the giant of failure for you. Just as He did for David, we're going to talk about how the Lord put the needed words in David's mouth when he came up against Goliath! He will also fill our mouths so that our decrees will shift our atmospheres! If He did it for David, He can do it for us! "...He is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). (Photo via Wikimedia)
Let's Change Our Confessions!
Now please hear me, because God wants to change our confession! He is putting HIS words in our mouths. He's replacing our negativity. The words of failure and fear that we've been speaking are causing our decrees to fall to the ground. It is time to change our confession from "I've tried that," to "Thank You, Lord, that my words will penetrate to the core of my situation because I am a son of God."
As we prophesy to our situations, know that God will fill our mouths. God wants us to see it! We need to get a vision of it happening today. See your future... See your destiny!
Definition of Failure
Here is a definition of failure. It is a "lack of success" (Dictionary.com). Failure is similar to certain terms of an insurance policy that tell you how you will have to "pay" for that failure. Failure will always cost us something. It seems the more we give room to the fear of failure, the more we will experience loss and insecurity. Failure is also defined as "nonperformance of something due, required, or expected" (Dictionary.com), perhaps like when you're expecting a crop and it fails to produce what is needed or expected.
Victory Over Poverty Mentalities
I want to insert something here that will possibly help. I believe it is very safe to say that for us as Believers, we can have a mindset that is doomed to failure. Many times, it is our belief system that is wrong.
Many of us have a poverty mentality, and until there is a renewing of our minds, we will be enslaved to poverty and lack until we think differently. It is as simple as renewing our minds.
Dear ones, I believe that every reader will begin a process of renewing their mind. I believe that you all are not doomed to failure but are stepping up and decreeing victory over all fear and failure.
Don't allow failure (or the fear of it) to keep you from moving forward. Failure may hinder you for a season, but the failures of your past are not permanent! Keep this in mind.
Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, said this, "I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that didn't work." Mr. Dyson attempted 5,126 times to invent a bagless vacuum cleaner. Failure should not be our undertaker but be our teacher. Failure may cause us delays but it is not defeat. It's a temporary detour, not a dead end. The enemy's job is to shut you down and cause you to have enough doubt and fear that you do not pursue your dreams.
Keep in mind that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). We are King's kids, and we have the right to walk in favor and blessings. Many times, I will take a Scripture and tape it to my mirror. (Photo via Unsplash)
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)
God Uses People Who Have Failed
The Bible is full of characters who failed but were still used of God. Many of them proved that failure is not fatal, and many went on to do exploits. To mention a few, remember:
• Sarah suggested that her husband Abraham impregnate another woman. Though she failed at this attempt to help God produce the covenant seed, God still brought forth a child from her own womb.
• Jacob stole his brother's birthright and later walked in God's blessings.
• Tamar slept with her father-in-law, Judah, and bore twins to him.
• David impregnated another man's wife; later God used him to win many battles.
• The woman at the well was married five times, and yet God used her to witness to Gentiles.
• Peter even denied Christ three times and yet went forth with mighty demonstrations.
• Last but not least, Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was the worst persecutor of the early Church. But the Lord used him to write thirteen books of the New Testament, and possibly fourteen books. Some theologians believe he also authored the book of Hebrews.
Let these examples be an encouragement to you! We all should be very thankful for how God can wash away our sins, faults, and mindsets, and still find enough grace to bring healing to us all. Even though we keep making mistakes and doubting our destinies to move forward, He always picks us up and puts our feet back on solid ground.
Let me pray for you: Father, I ask that every reader would reap abundantly after reading this. We have overcome only because we chose to hold You close in our hearts. When we feel like we have failed, we know that You will pick us up. When we become disappointed, You have the strength to pull us out of our pit of sorrow. Lord, You are our strength and high tower. Father, I ask that this be a great year of restoration and vision for all.
Father, there is nothing You would not do for us. I ask that You would empower the reader in their faith, because faith is an act of trust and reliance on You. It opens the door for Your miracles and reassures us of Your constant presence and care. Your promise, Lord, is that whatever we ask in Your name, we will receive it, if we have faith.
We come to You, acknowledging that Your will is best and that Your plan is far greater than anyone could ever ask for or imagine. Take away any wrong mindsets that we might have in order to resolve our doubt and unbelief. Take away all of our thoughts of failure and all our disappointments that have delayed our destinies. Thank You, Father, for keeping us safe and healthy. In Jesus' name, amen!
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Sandie Freed
Sandie Freed Ministries
Email: zionministries1@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.lifegatechurch.org |
sandiefreed.net
Dr. Sandie Freed is an apostolic, prophetic leader, author of more than fourteen books, and travels nationally and internationally preaching, teaching, and ministering the Word of God. Ordained as a prophet by Bishop Bill Hamon, Sandie's ministry involves a strong prophetic anointing and spiritual discernment. Her unique gifting is in dreams and visions, and as a modern-day Joseph, she empowers others to interpret God's voice through dreams and visions. Sandie's goal is to always equip the Body of Christ in their callings and empower them through revelation of the love of God. To this day, her best selling book is Breaking the Threefold Demonic Cord: How to Discern and Defeat the Lies of Jezebel, Athaliah and Delilah, which has been taught around the world and is printed in many different languages. Sandie and her husband Mickey co-pastor Lifegate Church in Hurst, Texas.
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