The Road to Lacking Nothing (Part Two)
By Steve Backlund
James 1:2-4 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing...". That's the key word – knowing. The only way we can truly count it all joy when facing trials is if we know something. The scripture continues, "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing". Wow! We can know our trials are unto something greater!.
As I discussed in the last blog, within every “various trial” that we encounter, a message (a lie) is being sent to us enticing us to renew our minds with it. This message contradicts God's promises, our identity, and our prophetic words. Interestingly, just after I wrote part one of this blog last week, Bill Johnson also preached on these same verses at our Sunday night service at Bethel Church. While it wasn't his entire message, it was a significant part. His point was within the trials themselves, there are “nutrients” to strengthen us to completeness and abundance (lacking nothing).
Bill referenced Numbers 14 when Joshua and Caleb were trying to convince the Israelites they could defeat the giants in their Promised Land. They said, “Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them" (Numbers 14:9). They called the opposition “our bread” This trial, this challenge, this blockage to their promises was actually nutrients for them.
Like Joshua and Caleb, we will experience various trials, both short-term and long-standing, things we didn't plan for. These are our “giants”. I remember my own experiences in Nevada in the early 90s, when I faced various trials like an old car, little money, personal struggles, and relationship issues. These trials were trying to send me a message. My old car whispered, "You should feel shameful for not being further along" or "This shows you're insignificant". I did not recognize these negative messages, and I unwittingly renewed my mind with them, creating negative strongholds.
Romans 15:13 says, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". The essence of this verse is that the God of hope fills us “in believing”. Increasing hope is the evidence we are renewing our minds with truth and creating positive strongholds, while decreasing hope indicates we are renewing our minds with lies and forming negative ones. The devil, the liar, uses these various circumstances and our emotions to speak lies to us, often reinforcing negative strongholds of regret, shame, disappointment, pessimism, and a victim mindset. These strongholds are strengthened when we agree with the feelings and messages coming from our trials (that seem to confirm what the stronghold is saying). That is why Romans 12:2 urges us to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind". We must ask ourselves, "What am I renewing my mind with? Where do my beliefs come from?". The feeling itself (like shame or discouragement) is almost always a bigger issue than the circumstance causing the feeling.
We tend to look for proof to confirm what we already believe is true. In psychology, this is confirmation bias. If we have a stronghold of regret, we will focus on everything that reinforces that feeling. If we have a stronghold of inferiority, we will fixate on circumstances and feelings that seem to confirm this. It is in our “various trials” that we have the opportunity to confront this negative tendency and believe something higher.
I bless you today with an increased revelation of the lies the enemy wants to send you through the various trials you face. When we begin to understand that this is a test, an opportunity, we become unstoppable. This leads to lacking nothing, and to what we call soul prosperity. 3 John verse 2 says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers". Soul prosperity is the beginning of outward prosperity in every realm of life, and counting it all joy is a significant part of the road that leads to lacking nothing.