To live a mind-blowing miraculous life of courage, worship and anticipation—that’s where we are this week. Throughout my life, there have been many instances where having the courage to give worship with anticipation and was able to see God’s overwhelming power triumph over them was the only way I made it through challenges. Last week, I shared with you that it was by having the courage to give worship with anticipation, my son is now cancer-free, my own body healed of cancer and even scar tissue in my throat completely healed.
Courage is rare, but we must have it in our lives to take hold of the promises of God and make them our own. This word, at its root, is about gathering. The first part, “-cour,” is from the Latin word cor, which means, “heart.” The second part, “-age,” carries the sense of gathering words or concepts together. For example, consider the word “postage.” It means, “to gather money to send a letter.” The word “orphanage” means “a place to gather children who have no parents.” This tells us that courage is not about what’s happening around you but about what you are gathering inside of you.
The leper was not consumed by the fact that his nervous system was being attacked by leprosy. He was determined by faith to get to the one who could change everything, so he mustered up the courage needed to pursue an encounter with Christ. This man stepped out in bold, courageous faith. In his heart, he knew Jesus could heal him, and he was so sure of it that he risked violating ceremonial law to reach Him. This first act of courageous faith was the foundation of his miracle.
It is no less significant that though the man needed to receive from God, he chose instead to give a sacrifice of praise first. Having the courage to give worship in the midst of a battle is about looking beyond yourself and taking a step of faith that places your trust in God alone. When you worship, it tells God, “You are worth my time, my money, my faith, my hope, my love and my trust.” God said we were worth it to Him when He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. He took the stripes upon His back for our healing, and He is worthy of our praise. Let the earth proclaim He is worthy! Let hell proclaim He is worthy! Let every tongue proclaim He is worthy! Let all of creation shout out that He is worthy! When you are under attack and it looks like everything is going to be lost, you must decide inside yourself to declare He is worthy, as the leper did.
Next, the leper proclaimed Christ’s ability to heal him. Because of his faith, he was filled with anticipation. He said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Matt. 8:2). He wasn’t concerned that Jesus couldn’t do it; he knew that if Jesus was willing—and He is—his healing was already on its way. Sure enough, in verse 3, we see Jesus’ response to the leper’s faith: “Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will. Be clean.'” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Jesus saw the man’s faith and healed him, just as the leper knew He would.
If you are in need of a miracle, sign or wonder today, I encourage you to begin to the gather the courage to give Him worship with anticipation. God will hear you, and He will respond.
You are beautiful. I see Jesus in you. Have an awesome week! {eoa}
Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the Book of Hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor’s conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia’s 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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