“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”
—Hebrews 11:1-2

Before working full-time in ministry beside my husband, I was a nurse. My heart’s desire was to spend quality time with my patients, but somehow I found myself being pushed out of bedside patient care and into administrative work, and I eventually became a stressed director of nursing. At the same time, I was working hard to be the perfect mother to two school-aged children and a perfect support to my husband and his congregation.

But perfect was far from what I could accomplish, and the weight of my responsibilities was overwhelming.

During that busy season, I found that setting aside twenty to thirty minutes in the wee hours of the morning to hear from the Lord through His Word gave me a supernatural peace and spiritual vision for my day. Throughout the day as I continued to meditate on the power of Jesus’ blood, I watched again and again as He supernaturally transformed out-of-control situations into peaceful, “in-control” situations. Father taught me that when I persevere with Him, all things are possible. But the only way I can live in that reality is to let Him take the wheel of every situation and look to Him for direction at every step.

Through pain, struggle, and trials of every kind, the Lord is strengthening and transforming us from the inside out so we can accomplish what He has purposed for us to do. Hebrews 11 tells of those who have gone before us—“Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, [and] put foreign armies to flight” (Heb. 11:32–34, emphasis added).

Beloved, an emboldened faith—assurance of Father’s love and faithfulness—comes by clinging to and following the Lord through tough, seemingly out-of-control situations. Arise and persevere with the confidence that God’s power is perfecting what we could never make perfect!

Father, not by power nor by might, but by Your Spirit is my life made perfect today. I trust You to do through me more than I ever thought possible. Father, take the wheel, and lead and guide me perfectly.

Cynthia Schneider, From Passover to Pentecost (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.