Dear Partners and Friends,
Last month I shared with you the importance of our stand in faith. The Lord Jesus Christ continues to emphasize to me our need to develop steadfastness. We must learn how to be unmovable where His promises are concerned. We must grow in our covenant stand. Do you remember what I Corinthians 15:58 says? “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Being steadfast is our part. The victory is in constant supply! We can be unmovable because of our continual victory!
“Wavering” is the opposite of being steadfast. To waver means, “to sway to and fro, to become unsteady, to feel or show indecision, to fluctuate or vary.” The position of faith is a position of standing, maintaining, and holding fast. Wavering causes us to move from the position of faith. This is the desired result of many of the situations you are facing at this moment. The attack is trying to move you away from God’s truth! If the enemy can make you unsteady, he can push you a little bit further until you drift away from the answer. Declare this out loud, “I shall not be moved!”
In James 1, we see how wavering operates. I want to share with you verses 7-8 from the Wuest translation of the Bible. “But let him be presenting his request in a trusting attitude, not in an expression of that hesitation which vacillates (between faith and unbelief and inclines toward unbelief), for the person who vacillates (between faith and unbelief) is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for let not that individual be supposing that he shall receive anything from the presence of the Lord (being) a dubious, undecided man, vacillating in all his ways.”
In these verses, we see that receiving requires a steadfast and unmovable believing. When the action of faith is interrupted, the receiving stops. The person who vacillates or moves back and forth from faith to unbelief is never in a position to receive long enough for the answer to come. The “wind” in this illustration represents any situation that blows into our lives. The wind only moves things that are unstable. The things that are rooted, grounded, steadfast, and unmovable are not affected by the wind regardless of how strong the wind might blow.
We can be the rooted and grounded believer who is unmoved by the circumstance! We can be the steadfast and unmovable people who are receiving God’s supply and provision regardless of the circumstance. Conditions may change but we are not receiving our strength or ability from external sources. Jesus Christ has connected us to the eternal source! Our health is provided in this covenant connection. Our financial strength is supplied in this covenant connection. The protection for our family is supplied.
The Word of God gives us this picture of an undecided person to help us understand what happens when we stagger back and forth from faith to doubt. Notice the Wuest translation says, “and inclines toward unbelief.” When you begin to waver it weakens your faith. The more you waver, the weaker your faith becomes. In Matthew 14, we see what happened when Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus. Peter started out in the position of faith. With the Word of Jesus Christ, Peter walked on the water. The power of God was flowing and Peter was receiving. Peter could have remained steadfast and unmovable but his focus shifted from the Word and Jesus to the wind and waves. Peter began to sink. I have never seen anyone begin to sink. I have seen people step off the side of a pool or a boat and sink very suddenly. Peter began to sink. This shows us that his faith was dissipating by degrees. To the degree that Peter wavered, his faith left him.
Every area of a person’s life will be affected by indecision. The verse says, “Unstable in all his ways.” The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” Faith affects our whole life and so does unbelief. We have to resist the wavering lifestyle. Remember, being steadfast and unmovable is our part! We can do it! We can hold fast to our confession of faith without wavering because He is faithful that promised.
The Word of God provides an illustration of the person who develops their faith in order to be steadfast and unmovable. This description is found in Psalms 1:3. ”And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Notice the root system has reached into the water supply to provide a source that is not influenced by the external conditions. The fruit or progress comes on time! The heat or difficulty of the situation does not harm the steadfast, unmovable person who is supplied by the Word! Whatever we do will prosper!
Partner, this describes you and I! We are expanding, multiplying, and increasing!
