The Cindy Challenge (Part 1)

All my life I have been defined by Faith. 

My mother was told she would never bear a child. Many years she bought into this truth until Faith turned the pages of her life to a chapter in which it called her to Trust God more than she ever had before.  

But the truth of the matter was this, Cindy could not define faith by her life, but by her Belief…she pressed towards what she knew. She knew how to pray and she knew how to fast.

Written upon the tables of her heart was this, “It is finished.” She dug her heels in and didn’t take man’s no for an answer. She knew it was not over until God said it was over. She did not know how it would be accomplished, why God would do such a thing for her, or what length of time it would take for her faith to birth this promise…but she knew…KNEW…it would be done. 

See, my name is Memory Faith, and in my life I have lived knowing had it not been for my father having great Faithfulness and my mother having been full of Faith I would not exist. Six and a half years of mustard seed after mustard seed, the Lord breathed life into the lungs of their faith...me.

Thus in remembrance of HIS faithfulness He told my mother what my name was to be. They, my parents, memorialized His exceptional mercy with my first name, “Memory.” Because God gave them His word that if they knocked it would be open. So, her womb was opened and she gave birth to me. 

As a little girl, Memory was a word not a name. I thought it was the absolute dumbest thing I had ever heard, but one day in High School as I was getting acquainted with the voice of God He told me that my name is a Memorial to the faith that my mother and father had. As a result, I started to go by my first name. 

Something I loved about this conversation I had with God was that he reminded me of memorials in the Bible. He showed me that a memorial in the sense of my name was that I have something that will always remind me of His faithfulness. 

I am engulfed in a sea of chills knowing that my Heavenly Father thought enough of me to be trusted with such a thing - to remind people of their faith and I shall spend my life testifying that Faith changes everything…and it truly does make SOMETHING out of NOTHING. 

I am writing about Faith, because you cannot fulfill the promise without Faith. 

Weeks ago I sat on the front row at my church during altar call, my head in my lap and my hands palms up, begging God to confirm something to me. That is when He poured a word into me and filled me up after weeks of praying for a sign that what I was doing was not without purpose…

When I got so desperate to hear Him I couldn’t hear anything else, He told me this, “I have remembered.” And then He reminded me of my name. 

“Remember your Faith.” I sat, still, weeping again upon the mountain of His Mercy. “You remember me?” I asked, “ You haven’t forgotten me?”

How often do we believe that He has put us on the back burner and forgets us sitting on that eye, bubbling over with desperation when He is, in fact, working it out?! When has He ever forgotten you? Never. 

I say all of this to say that today, even if you have held on so tight to your mustard seed that it has been crushed under the WAIT of the fulfillment of His promise…HE HAS REMEMBERED YOU. 

HE has NOT forgotten His promise to you. 

What He wants you to know is what my mother knew, “IT IS FINISHED.”

If He said that it is done IT WILL BE.  If He promised…He will not and never will fail you.
HIs mercy endures even when we do not endure the weight and wait of the things He said will come to pass. 

It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, friend, because  their words don’t hold a candle to that of our God. 

I have been praying over and FOR something for over a year. I drown in it’s possibilities—But here is what I hold onto, if I am faithful…if I hold up my end of the bargain…He will be faithful to the things I want Him to be faithful to.

Like my mother, I do not know how it will be accomplished. I don’t know why God would do such a thing for me or how long it will take  him to do it - However, I do know my God is Faithful. 

Whether you are reading this and some piece of it is whispering affirmation to your heart or not, believe me when I say…

Faith is what will keep you when you are lost. Faith is what breathes life into us when we are overwhelmed and overcome with fear and doubt. Faith is what covers us when we cannot cover ourselves. 

Challenge yourself right now. Pull a Cindy—get in the face of the fear that binds you to the belief that God can’t fix what He promised and send it back to Hell. Grab your miracle and hold on tight. I know firsthand that this is NOT easy…Faith takes guts and a lot of work. But it does WORK and you are going to have to work hard to have it and you are going to have to work hard to keep it. God Keeps His promises…so keep your faith. 

This week’s Prayer:

“God, I’m here again. Here wading in a sea of panic and I need you to throw me a lifeline. Renew in me not only a clean heart but also breathe new life into my Faith and my Promise. Enable me to see your hand in the little things and in the big things that are working together for the good of my future, present, and in recovery of/from my past. I release you to do whatever must be done in order for this to be brought to fruition. I welcome your hand of both correction AND provision. I am having faith and believing that I have rightfully put my trust in you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to get it right and to be intentional about my belief in you and your Word. I pray these things in Jesus Name, Amen. (Let it be so).”