Life Plan Devotion #73 [God's Armor--Shield of Faith, Part I]

Hi, Everyone.
Yesterday, I began praying about how to introduce the Shield of Faith, the fourth piece of the Armor of God. I decided it would be good to focus on the topic of faith, first. Last night, I emailed some devotions from a series called the Divine Health Devotional (on living in divine health and healing). One was on faith, and I felt it was perfect to use today.

Life Plan Devotion #73 [God's Armor--Shield of Faith, Part I]

     The fourth piece of the Armor of God, given to each believer, is the Shield of Faith. In order to understand what it is and how to use it, we must understand what faith is. Let's spend a few days looking at the topic of "faith."
     If you want to be an overcomer, you must live by faith, and that faith must be real faith, not the "I'll give it a try" kind of faith. Have the kind of faith that goes beyond hoping and into believing, no matter what.
     How do you know if you are living in real faith? Real faith involves:
     1) Finding out God's will regarding your need and then trusting Him to bring it to pass,
     2) Stepping out and believing God for what you know to be His will for your life,
     3) Believing that God said what He meant and means what He said and then trusting Him to
          do what He said,
     4) Acting like His Word is true and expecting Him to do the same.
     Get to the place where you say to yourself, "Either I believe the Bible or I don't." Hope will give up, but faith has tenacity. Real faith digs in its heels and says, "I know what belongs to me, and I'm not going to live without it!" That's how to be a world overcomer--someone with real faith, who knows it, thinks it, speaks it, and walks in it.

I John 5:4
"Every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through faith."

What this has to do with weight loss: Do you know that it's God's will for your body to be healthy, for you to release excess weight? Do you recognize that Satan wants you to experience defeat in this area? Do you know that tenacious faith will give you victory in this area? Meditate on these facts, and be willing to go from hope to overcoming faith.

Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I desire the kind of faith that defeats the enemy and achieves victory. Often, I just 'hope' that something good will happen, but now I realize that I need to know what Your Word says about it and then stand on it, trusting You to bring it to pass. Help me learn to live the life of overcoming faith. I pray, in Jesus' Name. Amen."

Go forth today, determined to be a world overcomer, by faith.

Blessings,
Mary