Val's Encouragement
For those of you that don't know her, Val Unverzagt is my pastor at The House. And if you ever meet Val, you'll come to know that she's a woman of great faith, and great conviction about the Word. She geniunely LOVES people. She's one of those people that will give you the shirt off her back, work doing the smallest task (like cleaning up a poopy bathroom) to the biggest (like walking into a bar or a strip club to reach the lost for Christ). She's someone who will step out boldy to help those in need regardless of where they've been, what they've done, or even currently doing. She's been in ministry a long time, seen a lot of things, learned from a lot of experience with a vast amount of very different people. She will be unabashed about speaking the Word over and above any circumstance anyone faces. She certainly isn't perfect, nor does she claim to be, but she's one of the most Christ-like pastors that I've ever known, and I've been going to church all my life. She's a tough, no nonsense woman when it comes to the things of God, and sometimes she gets slack for it. Sometimes I've been one to give her slack for it! (I love you, Valerie!) But, Val has seen many miracles in her own life, and her own family as well as in the lives of those she leads.
There have been times when I knew I had to take something that Val has said with care to know how to apply it to my own personality and process. I think it's wise to do that with anyone who is giving you a word of encouragement or advice. Afterall, when anyone gives you a word of encouragement, you have to understand that they could be speaking out of their own wisdom and experience, or they could be divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak directly into what you're going through. You need still need to seek God about how to apply words from other people to your life and situation, regardless of how it makes you feel. God is still the one leading and guiding you, and He uses a multitude of things to do it. So, when Val gets a certain "look" about her, I know its one of those times to shut up and listen, because I'm going to need what she has to say over the situation ahead. Tonight was one of those times, and I think it would be beneficial to share it with you. Here's my paraphrase of what she said...
There are many voices going on in your life right now. The doctors have a voice, Preston has a voice, your family has a voice, your friends have a voice, the church has a voice, the enemy has a voice, the "facts" and statistics have a voice, your body has a voice, and so on. All these voices are going on at the same time, feeding into how you perceive the situation. But, you need to answer every voice with what the Word of God says about that thought or the information that's coming in. For every voice, there is a verse. Let that be your reply.
Don't plan for the worst, but expect the best. Dare to plan for the best to happen. Know that you can have more than what the voices say you can have. Believe you can receive what the Word says you can have, and who you are. There's nothing wrong about going ahead with treatment. A friend of hers said once regarding healing, "Keep the body alive until your faith gets you there." But you need to work on getting rid of the doubt and unbelief battling against you. In Mark 9, the father believing for healing for his son asked Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief, and the father was able to overcome it and see his boy healed. Work on three things in the days ahead:
There have been times when I knew I had to take something that Val has said with care to know how to apply it to my own personality and process. I think it's wise to do that with anyone who is giving you a word of encouragement or advice. Afterall, when anyone gives you a word of encouragement, you have to understand that they could be speaking out of their own wisdom and experience, or they could be divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak directly into what you're going through. You need still need to seek God about how to apply words from other people to your life and situation, regardless of how it makes you feel. God is still the one leading and guiding you, and He uses a multitude of things to do it. So, when Val gets a certain "look" about her, I know its one of those times to shut up and listen, because I'm going to need what she has to say over the situation ahead. Tonight was one of those times, and I think it would be beneficial to share it with you. Here's my paraphrase of what she said...
There are many voices going on in your life right now. The doctors have a voice, Preston has a voice, your family has a voice, your friends have a voice, the church has a voice, the enemy has a voice, the "facts" and statistics have a voice, your body has a voice, and so on. All these voices are going on at the same time, feeding into how you perceive the situation. But, you need to answer every voice with what the Word of God says about that thought or the information that's coming in. For every voice, there is a verse. Let that be your reply.
Don't plan for the worst, but expect the best. Dare to plan for the best to happen. Know that you can have more than what the voices say you can have. Believe you can receive what the Word says you can have, and who you are. There's nothing wrong about going ahead with treatment. A friend of hers said once regarding healing, "Keep the body alive until your faith gets you there." But you need to work on getting rid of the doubt and unbelief battling against you. In Mark 9, the father believing for healing for his son asked Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief, and the father was able to overcome it and see his boy healed. Work on three things in the days ahead:
- Decultivate doubt and disbelief in your thinking.
- Answer every voice with the Word.
- Get as much prayer as possible.
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