God’s Got This: Devotions of Courageous Faithনমুনা
Omniscient and Omnipotent
As someone who has been ministering cross-culturally in poor, destitute areas for decades, it was difficult for me to receive personal blessings for a long time. This difficulty was also connected to a traumatic childhood experience when I was twelve years old. I had asked my mother for a horse and let’s just say, the conversation did not go well for me. I vowed to myself that I would never ask anyone for anything ever again. Through prayer and counseling as an adult, I realized I had never fully forgiven my mother for that incident. I was finally able to do so by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Years later, I was speaking at a conference in Red Deer, Canada, when the pastor told me that cowboys were waiting outside and asked for me. It seemed strange for many reasons, especially since I was ministering, but the pastor insisted. Sure enough, I walked outside to find two cowboys and a cowgirl wearing jeans with big belt buckles, hats, and boots. Father God had told them that I once asked Him for a big, black horse, and He never forgets. This experience was not a vision. Before my very eyes stood a majestic, black horse named Baby that these cowboys had sacrificed to purchase and transport all the way from Montana to Canada—for me!
Mind you, I hadn’t told a soul that I had prayed for a horse except for my sister. I will never forget jumping onto that beautiful horse and galloping across the parking lot and into the fields. My hands lifted toward the sky and tears streamed from my eyes. Everything shifted for me that day. I truly felt the love of the Father as he spoke to my heart that this horse was a sign for me to receive deeply of his love.
Another sign of God’s love came to me in the form of a photograph. The cowboys had taken a picture of Baby and me galloping through the golden fields of harvest but for some reason, the film was double exposed. When the pictures were developed, an image of a conference at our Iris Malawi base, where we were feeding tens of thousands of people and witnessing miraculous healings, appeared on top of the image of Baby and me. The Lord spoke to my heart and told me to share with the church that this was the time of harvest.
As believers in Jesus, we have an incredible privilege in gifting forgiveness to others, even those whom we might feel have not necessarily earned it. When we forgive others, God heals our hearts and we can run into His arms and receive His blessings. Once I had forgiven my mother, God released me from my childhood vow that I would never ask anyone for anything. It is okay to ask God for personal blessings. He is big enough to grant our personal desires without minimizing His love and care for the dying, desperate, broken, and needy people of the world. He is omniscient and omnipotent, and He never ever forgets our prayers.
Father, let me rest in Your love. Let me rest in Your loving arms. Show me Your goodness and grace. Teach me more about Your nature. Lord Jesus, I release a gift of forgiveness to anyone who has ever hurt me. Thank You, Jesus.
Action Steps
- Forgive (see Matthew 6:14).
- Experience Father God’s love (see Psalm 103:13).
- Receive (see James 1:17).
Heidi Baker interviewed a number of courageous believers, asking them what challenges they have overcome with God’s help. In God’s Got This: 40 Devotions of Courageous Faith, Heidi recounts more extraordinary true stories of men and women who fixed their eyes on Jesus and never gave up. She also vulnerably shares some of her deepest fears and most difficult experiences, revealing how she, too, learned to overcome life’s trials through faith in God and trust in His Word. Learn more at https://bit.ly/GodsGotThisBSP.
About this Plan
We want to feel the comfort of God but with so much uncertainty in the world, how do we trust in Him? In this plan adapted from God's Got This, Heidi Baker recounts two extraordinary true stories of courageous believers who fixed their eyes on Jesus and never gave up. She also shares a story of how she learned that it is okay to ask God for personal blessings.
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