Substance use

I wrote this blog on May 19th 2012.....

You may think that’s a strange title for a blog entry. You may think that’s a strange title for a good Christian woman’s blog entry. But I’m going to convince you why substance use is good, and not only good, but why you should be doing it. Intrigued???? Good, read on...

I have often heard about people having “vision”. Not the having sight sort of vision, but the vision that is super-spiritual, that involves a deep, trembly voice and lots of pious and holy-looking facial contortions. To be honest, the word has always invoked a kind of fear and scepticism in me. But actually, when we get down to the actual definition of “vision”, it’s the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.  So it’s the stuff we dream about, the stuff we hope for, the stuff we desire to come to pass. That’s not actually so scary. We all have our hopes and dreams.
 

I’ve not gone off on a tangent there; it’s important to understand this to get down to our Substance Use. Because, Hebrews 11 v 1 says:  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for”.
One of my favourite verses in the Bible, I remember when I first read this, years ago. It was like a light was switched on in my brain and all of a sudden, all the preaches I had been hearing, all the things that Christians were telling me, suddenly made sense. Whatever I hope for cannot be seen, it’s just some desire in my heart, and a picture in my mind. You can leave your hopes and dreams there....as whims, or unfulfilled fragments of potential. No one can see them, no one can touch them, no one has any notion of them. But (and here’s the science bit) when you use your faith, something happens and they become tangible reality; they go from the unseen, to the visible.

So what happens when we use this faith? If you skip forward to verse 3, it says,
“Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”.

That’s a bit mind blowing. There was nothing (“things which do not appear”) then God injected some of His faith, and suddenly the world and the universe are here! Wow, that’s some major powerful substance, is that faith!!! God created the world, from nothing, using something called faith, and all of a sudden there are hills, seas, mountains, trees, stars, moons, us....everything you see. Let’s just have a look at the Amplified Bible for a moment, and look at verses 1 and 3 of Hebrews 11.
“NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.”
So faith is real, it’s tangible, it’s the substance of the unseen things we hoped for. If something has got substance, then we can see it. Substance is defined as a particular kind of matter with uniform properties; the quality of having a solid basis in reality or fact.

So faith is real. In fact, faith is the title deed. I love this. A title deed is a document that proves ownership. That’s outstanding...if you use faith, you’ve granted yourself a title deed proving ownership or possession of the thing you’re hoping for. It’s a bit like purchasing something online. When I order and pay for something, it’s legally mine. I get a receipt for my order via email, and I wait for delivery. Even though delivery may take a few days, the item is mine. So when we see a vision for our lives, we pray and release faith and speak those faith filled words, and this becomes our proof of purchase or our title deed. And we keep trusting and wait patiently for delivery.

You may say, hold on, God’s faith and my faith are very different things. God’s God, but I’m just little old me. Well, that’s faulty thinking. You're not just little old you: you’re a faith being; you’ve been adopted into His family, you have the mind of Christ. Romans 12 tells us God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. There’s no need to worry, God’s given you a measure of faith, and we’re told even faith as tiny as a grain of mustard seed can move mountains.

So let’s sum up before we continue any further. Firstly, we hope for things and these things are not seen. However, if we use faith (which we all have, and which we know is mighty powerful), our hopes become real because the faith we use has given them substance. We don’t need loads of faith, just tiny grains of it will produce amazing things.
Just to check we’re all understanding here, Faith is the substance we’re using...not any kind of illegal contraband! Ok.....just checking we're all on the same page.

How do we get loads of this faith so it’s not just little mustard seed sized? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word. We must listen to the Word, confess the Word, listen to people who talk the Word. How do we activate our faith? Well, what did God do? He spoke. But He didn’t use faithless, idle talk. He was careful about what He said. He only said what His vision was, and when He gave substance to His vision using His faith filled words (“Let there be light” being one example), then the vision was made real.
We have this substance, faith, at our disposal for our hopes when they’re in line with His word. Let’s get some substance to our hopes. And we need to keep on doing it and making it a lifestyle. Hebrews 10 v 38 – Now the just shall live by faith.

So, you may think, what do I do? Have a hope for something, release my faith, see it come to pass, then do it all over again? Is this scriptural? Well, yes the good news is that it is scriptural. The Bible tells us in Proverbs that we must “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” But not only that, but that the more we use our faith, the more pleasing we are to God. (Hebrews 11 v 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him”). So, look into your heart, what desires and hopes has God put there for your life? One by one, start giving them some substance through your faith and keep on doing it and you will be a God pleaser.