Feed your Faith, Starve your Doubts (Pillbox Faith)

God taught me a lesson about faith recently. A couple of nights ago, I was battling cold symptoms (cough, stuffy nose, etc) when I decided to take a decongestant. I opened the package and took out 2 pills when God stopped me and told me to look at the box. I did. Then He said something very profound:  "You are about to take these pills simply because you believe the manufacturer's word on the box. You believe that the pills will do what the box says it will do. But how do you really know if that is true? They may not help at all, but you trust that they will. You use faith everyday, but that faith is directed towards belief in words printed on a box, in advertising, commercials, and other things. Take Me at My Word. The bible has many promises for you. Believe them, act upon them, and watch the word go to work." I told this story to my husband, Mike and he was blown away. He gave this type of faith a name: "Pillbox Faith (tm)." I have been meditating on faith a lot because I had some doubts about a section in the following  scripture:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:2-5)

I had no problem believing that God forgives me, heals me, redeems my life from destruction, loves me and shows me mercy. But I admit I wavered in believing that God satisfies my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles. My doubt came from lack of understanding: What are those good things with which God is supposed to satisfy my mouth? Being a health advocate, my first thought was it meant eating healthy foods. But God led me to do something different. He told me to compile all of the scriptures that spoke about the mouth positively. As I compiled them and read them out loud, I realize that those of us who struggle with self-control in eating have a powerful tool to use for our benefit - if we only exercise pillbox faith and use it! God brought this scripture to my mind:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

Notice God said: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth! While it is wonderful to read and meditate on the bible quietly, do you ever take time to read the scriptures out loud - put them in your mouth? We mostly use our mouths for two things: To talk and to eat. But when I read the scriptures about the mouth, they showed me how God expects us to use our mouth. Here's the great opportunity you have: Whenever you feel led to eat from appetite and not because your body is hungry, take that as a demand from your faith: "Feed me!" To feed your faith, fill your mouth with scripture. Read it out loud. God has promised in His word that your mouth will be satisfied and your youth will be renewed like the eagles. Take Him at His word! I've challenged myself to do this for a month (I started yesterday) and I hope that you will join me. Here is a document that you can download with all of the scriptures I compiled about the mouth. https://takebackyourtemple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Conquer_Doubt_with_your_Mouth.pdf I am excited to see what God will do in my life as I commit to this practice! One other thing: The scripture in Joshua 1:8 says that we keep the Word in our mouths and meditate on it so that we may "observe to do according to all that is written in it." "Observe to do" means that as you speak scriptures about the mouth, then look for situations in your daily life to practice what you speak! Again, here are the benefits God promised:

• Your youth will be renewed like the eagle's
• You will make your way prosperous
• You will have good success

Just like you believe the words on a pillbox, believe that God will do what He says He will do. Just as you are willing to wait until the pillbox says the medicine will take effect, then be willing to wait on God for His Word to take effect. Today, feed your faith and starve your doubts with pillbox faith! Kimberly Taylor