Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God's Word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is Love-born and bound, whatever brings peace that passes all understanding, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
—in both inclination and character.
Because we trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectationwe – Faith].
Though we cannot and do not physically see, it is so!
Now 'Faith' is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we not see.
By 'Faith' we understand that The Universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By 'Faith' Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By 'Faith' he was commended as righteous, are we?
when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
And without 'Faith' it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Proponents of the "no-rain" view refer to Genesis 2 to support their position. Genesis 2:5–6 states that "the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground" (emphasis added).
From this passage, all that can really be said is that no rain had fallen up to that time—that is, prior to the creation of man. Remember, Genesis 2 is primarily a detailed recap of Day Six of Creation Week. The passage describes the environment before Adam was created. This mist may have been one of the primary methods that God used to hydrate the dry land He created on Day Three. Furthermore, while this mist was likely the watering source for that vegetation throughout the remainder of Creation Week, the text does not require it to be the only water source after Adam's creation.
Some argue that this mist eliminated the need for rain until the time of the Flood. However, presence of the mist prior to Adam's creation does not preclude the existence of or the need for rain after he was created.
Genesis 2:5–6 reveals that before the Sixth Day of Creation Week, God had watered the plants He made with a mist, but had not yet caused rain or created a man to till the ground. To demand that rain didn't happen until after the Flood from this passage has no more logical support than to claim, from the passage, that no one farmed until after the Flood.
In the vast array of God's creation, how many times have we studied an object and wondered, "How did God think of that?" or perhaps, "What possible purpose can that thing serve?" More often than not, when we dissect one of God's creations, we begin to see the infinite wisdom of His mind.
Here is one of those natural wonders: Have we ever stopped to think of the many types of precipitation God has made? The earth's atmosphere produces rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog, mist and dew—maybe even a few more kinds as well. These creations that God designed to water the earth also come at different times and in varying amounts depending on the region of the world.
Arid regions receive very little rain and rarely, if ever, see snow. Tropical regions receive regular rains and probably never have an ice storm. Arctic regions endure heavy snowfalls, yet may never have had a rainstorm. Many of us live in temperate climes that receive a mixture of all the different types of precipitation.
Except for possibly the frigid arctic regions, all the other areas receive some amount of dewfall. Most of the people on earth have some experience with dew, so it makes a good vehicle for illustrating spiritual principles. What lessons does God want us to learn from examining the use of dew in Scripture?
Dew is a deposit of water droplets, formed at night by the condensation of water vapor from the air, onto the surface of objects exposed to the sky. It forms on clear nights when the air is calm or winds are light. The process that produces the dew begins as the sun begins to set and night begins to fall. Objects exposed to the open air cool faster than the air around them, and if it is sufficiently humid, water vapor condenses out of the air and covers the object. Dew may also be drawn from the ground. Another type of dew, "hoarfrost," occurs when the air temperature reaches the freezing point.
When the processes of precipitation occur, a common result is that they cover everything. Whether it comes in the form of rain, snow, dew or frost, if something is in the open air, the precipitation will cover it. While walking in the forest behind our house on a cold winter morning, I can see that the dew has frozen, totally encapsulating everything in sight in a crystal-white jacket of hoarfrost. It is sometimes so thick it almost looks like snow. Who can paint a more beautiful landscape than God can?
Scientists have attempted to measure dewfall, and research suggests that on any given night, dewfall may be as much as 3/100ths of an inch. In some cases, dewfall may be as much as three inches annually. In wilderness areas of Palestine and Syria, dewfall is essential to maintain any vegetation and animal life at all. Rainfall from April to October is very scarce, and life in these areas would cease without the dew. This is true for many other regions of the world as well, but these two are of particular interest because of their relationship to biblical times.
As the dew covers a plant, the plant absorbs the life-giving substance through its leaves, giving it what it needs to survive another day. Without this daily source of water, plants will not endure until the latter rains in the autumn. We can perhaps relate this analogy to the timeframe of the spring and fall holy days, when we receive plenty of spiritual food to last through the long, hot days of summer or a long, cold winter.
Applying this to the church, we have all witnessed the hedge being taken away, and the protection that God had placed around it is not what it once was. In addition, God withholds rain from it, and growth slows or stops altogether.
Many may not have had the opportunity to live on or near a farm, but a hedge, fence or wall is very important in the protection of the crop. Once when I was out hunting near a cornfield, I noticed that the surrounding forest was covered with corn shucks. Now the field had a fence around it, but it was full of holes and broken down in some places. Varmints could come and go, freely taking the corn off into the cover of the forest to devour it. Since the hedge was broken, the field had no protection from the dangers that were lurking all around!
What is this dew that is to be withheld? This is similar to what we see in Isaiah 5:6, where God says, "I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." Could the dew and rain refer to God's Spirit? Do we see His Spirit being poured out as it once was in the church? Certainly, God would withhold His Spirit from a church that has largely apostatized.
God could not have written the script for the end-time apostasy in Deuteronomy 31-32 any better after its occurrence. In these chapters, God tells Moses that after his death the people would forsake God and turn away from His commandments. Does this sound familiar? It should, because it is a common pattern in the Bible.
Throughout the history of Israel, the people ran hot and cold in their reliance on God, largely depending on the faith of their leader or king. God mentions dew in context of His work to proclaim the truth in Deuteronomy 32:2: "Let My teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass." Speech equates to "teaching," so it includes God's Word, His commandments, His truth and ultimately all of His instruction. Distillmeans to "run down," "flow" or "stream." This is a picturesque way of saying God sends His truth to cover the earth like dew!
God reestablished and codified His law through Moses, and just as God predicted would occur after Moses' death, Israel went into apostasy. After many years and hot-and-cold periods, Israel eventually became so scattered that their identity was lost even to themselves!
God, knowing that man could never follow His law without His Holy Spirit, sent Jesus Christ to magnify the law and die for our sins. This makes it possible for us to keep the faith without falling back to apostasy. Jesus also established the church. Yet after His death, the church flourished for a while then faded into apostasy, and its scattering was even worse than Israel's! Some went to Europe, others to Africa and Asia and who knows where else!
By 'Faith' Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
By 'Faith' he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God!
And by 'Faith' even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered God faithful who had made the promise.
All these people were still living by 'Faith' when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on Earth.
People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own!
If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a Heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for God has prepared a city for them.
By 'Faith' Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son from Sarah his other half. Not an attempt to fulfill God's promise! At times 'waiting on The Lord' appears to be an insurmountable peak!
We pray to God and expect an answer, immediately.
When He does not answer, we say there is no God.
This impatience explains the number of Christians, who go around, daily, seeking for miracles and fast remedies to their solution.
We forget that the Bible is filled with believers, who waited and held on, in spite of their problems, such as Job, Abraham, and so on.
Holding to their faith, even when it seemed pointless and useless.
By 'Faith' Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
By 'Faith' Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
By 'Faith' Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
By 'Faith' Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
By 'Faith' Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Where do we stand?
"A baby boy was born from the house of Levi, of the Hebrews, and was hidden for three months to avoid being slain by the Egyptians, as Pharoah has ordered the killing of every Hebrew son. When the baby could not be hidden any longer, his mother put him in a basket made of "bulrushes" and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
By 'Faith' he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
By 'Faith' the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
By 'Faith' the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days!
By 'Faith' the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David (a descendant of the house/tribe and people God would use to issue a forgiveness to all so that we can approach God through Jesus.) Samuel and the prophets, who through 'Faith' conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.
They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their 'Faith', yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Reflect on this, Amen in our lives we decree in Jesus' name.