Day 31: Calling Things That Are Not
Prescription Truth
Day 31: Calling Things That Are Not
“As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” — Romans 4:17 (KJV)
“Faith does not merely repeat what is visible; faith agrees with what God has spoken before the promise is fully seen.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc
Calling Things That Are Not
My wife and I have remodeled many homes and properties throughout the years. As a matter of fact, we are at the final stage of remodeling a home as I write this devotion. Brenda has an amazing gift for envisioning what a house will look like before it undergoes any renovations. That remodeled home exists in her vision before it exists in reality. Before the first board is nailed into place, before the walls are moved, she has already seen what is coming. There are dreams, colors, plans, measurements, drawings, and specifications that describe something not yet visible to the natural eye.
As a great vision casting remodeler she can stand inside and outside of a worthless, dilapidated house and talk about the front yard, backyard, entryways, siding, porches, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, doors, and windows because she is not limited by a poorly maintained, worn-out property. When others see something trashy, she sees a new beginning. She is not limited by what the house presently looks like. People may say, “There is nothing here,” but her vision says, “The seemingly impossible is possible.”
That is a powerful picture of faith. Romans 4 takes us into the life of Abraham, a man who received a promise that appeared impossible in the natural. God had promised that he would become the father of many nations, yet Abraham and Sarah were beyond the natural age of having children. Everything visible seemed to contradict what God had spoken.
But Abraham had something greater than the visible condition. He had a word from God.
Romans says Abraham believed in “God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” This is important because biblical faith begins with God. Faith is not inventing whatever we want and demanding that it happen. Faith hears what God has spoken, believes His promise, and brings our thoughts, expectations, and words into agreement with Him.
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham before the promised son was born. Every time someone called him Abraham, they were calling him by a name connected to his promised future. Before Isaac appeared, the promise was already being spoken. Before the manifestation came, God had already declared what would be.
That is the nature of faith. Faith can speak from the promise while circumstances are still changing. Faith can say, “God is restoring me,” even while the healing journey is still unfolding. Faith can say, “The Lord is strengthening me,” even when the body has experienced weakness. Faith can say, “God’s Word is health to all my flesh,” because faith is anchored in what God has spoken.
This does not mean we deny facts. Abraham knew how old he was, and he knew Sarah’s condition. Faith did not require him to become dishonest about reality. Faith required him to decide which voice would have the highest authority. The natural facts were real, but the promise of God was greater.
There is a tremendous difference between acknowledging a condition and allowing that condition to define your future. You may need to tell a doctor exactly where it hurts. You may need to discuss symptoms, treatment, medication, surgery, or practical choices. That is wisdom. But after reporting the problem where it needs to be reported, you do not have to spend the rest of your day rehearsing it as though sickness has become your identity.
This is where the fight of faith becomes very practical. The medical report may say one thing, while the promise of God speaks healing, strength, and restoration. Faith does not tear up the report and pretend it does not exist. Faith takes the report to God, receives appropriate care, and then refuses to give the report a higher place than the Word.
We have been learning throughout this healing journey to pray and say the promise, not the problem. Day 31 takes that truth even deeper. Sometimes faith must speak about what is not yet visible because God has already spoken about what is possible. You may not yet see full restoration, but you can still speak restoration. You may not yet feel complete strength, but you can still agree with the God who strengthens you.
Think again about the thermostat. A thermostat does not merely announce the present temperature in the room. A thermometer does that. The thermostat establishes a desired setting. If the room is eighty degrees and the thermostat is set at seventy-two, the thermostat does not surrender to the present condition and say, “Well, I guess eighty is all there will ever be.” It maintains the setting and activates the system designed to change the atmosphere.
That is what hope and faith do together. Hope sets the expectation according to God’s promise, and faith goes to work believing, speaking, praying, and standing. We do not simply become spiritual thermometers constantly announcing how bad everything feels. We set our hearts on what God has said and allow our words to come into agreement with His promise.
Many people spend their days calling things exactly as they presently see them. “I am always going to be sick.” “I will never get stronger.” “Nothing is changing.” “This runs in my family.” “I guess I just have to live with it.” Those words may feel honest in the moment, but they can become agreements with hopelessness.
Faith teaches us another vocabulary. Faith says, “God is working in me.” Faith says, “My strength is being renewed.” Faith says, “The Word of God is life to me and health to all my flesh.” Faith says, “The same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in me.” Faith does not speak because everything has already changed; faith speaks because God is faithful.
Abraham had to live between promise and manifestation. There was a season when he had heard the Word but had not yet held Isaac. That space between what God has said and what we presently see is where many people become discouraged. Yet that is also where faith matures, hope anchors the soul, and our confession learns to agree with Heaven.
Perhaps you are in that space right now. You have prayed, believed, and stood, but you are still waiting to see everything fully manifested. Do not use the waiting season to rehearse defeat. Use it to deepen your roots in the promise. Keep hearing the Word, keep speaking the Word, keep thanking God in advance, and keep your heart aligned with what He has said.
One of the greatest discoveries in the healing journey is realizing that what is visible today does not have to become the final chapter of tomorrow. God still quickens dead things, restores broken things, strengthens weak things, and calls forth purposes that have not yet appeared. So stop letting the empty lot tell you there will never be a house. Look again at the blueprint of God’s promise, lift your voice in faith, and begin agreeing with what Heaven has already spoken.
Prayer
Father, thank You that You are the God who gives life and calls forth what has not yet appeared. Teach me to bring my thoughts, expectations, and words into agreement with Your promises. Help me acknowledge reality without surrendering my future to fear. I choose to pray and say the promise instead of continually rehearsing the problem. Strengthen me to stand between promise and manifestation with unwavering confidence in Your faithfulness. I thank You in advance for healing, restoration, renewed strength, and wholeness working in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Today’s Prescription
Take this Gos-Pill as soon as you wake up each morning and right before bedtime:
“I will not let what I see cancel what God has said. I agree with His promise and call forth healing, strength, and restoration by faith.”
