WEEK 18 DEVOTIONAL | RELEASE

WEEK 18 DEVOTIONAL | RELEASE

God has given everybody a degree of faith and a purpose designed for service.

We all have the power of faith living within us; we just need to remember to RELEASE it. We all have times when our faith is strong, and we have times when our face feels weak. Romans 12 says that each of us is given a measure of faith. Even when we don't feel like our faith is strong, we can have hope in God and in knowing that for those who love God, all things work together for good. We just need to RELEASE our faith and trust God by giving our circumstances to Him knowing that He is in control of everything and doing the best we can with what we have.

Football player Kwity Paye was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the 21st pick in the 2021 NFL draft. He has one of the most remarkable stories in the NFL. Kwity was born in a refugee camp after his family fled Liberia. His mother Agnes brought him and his brother to Providence to escape, and she signed them up for football at the Boys & Girls Club.

In the 8th grade, Kwity took Rhode Island's entrance exams for high school, and he earned acceptance into Bishop Hendricken, a Catholic academy with a great academic reputation and good football program. Kwity wanted to attend, but his mom said that she couldn't afford it. Kwity, seeing the opportunity that was in front of him, demonstrated how we can RELEASE our faith. He made a big promise to his mother. He said, "If you send me there, Mom, you won't have to pay for college. He guaranteed his mother he'd earn a college scholarship to play football if she found a way to pay for Bishop Hendricken.

Kwity had faith in himself and faith in his mother. He RELEASED his faith when he made the promise to his mother. But as it says in James 2:17, "Faith without works is dead," and as it says in James 2:14, "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" Kwity talked the talk, and then Kwity walked the walk. Agnes worked nearly 24-hour days putting Kwity through high school, and Kwity saw the sacrifice and work that his mother was putting in for him and he did his best to work as hard on and off the field as his mother did to pay for school.

Kwity earned a football scholarship through the University of Michigan, and now Kwity is in the NFL. 

A beautiful life is available to us if we learn to live by faith and RELEASE our faith. We can never get rid of pain and suffering. Life will never be problem-free. But if we learn to RELEASE our faith, we can know that we already have victory through Christ who strengthens us day by day. Faith changes and creates things. Faith solves problems and moves mountains. RELEASING your faith doesn't change things overnight. Sometimes you have to keep believing and keep holding on through the storms of life. But God is faithful and he is working for you if you believe. If He doesn't immediately make a change or move a mountain, he will give you the strength to go through and to go through it with a smile on your face.

In Mark 11:22, Jesus said, "Have faith in God." In Mark 11:24, Jesus said, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." In Romans 1:17, it is written that the Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight and this is accomplished from start to finish by faith. It says that it is through faith that a righteous person has life.

We all have a measure of faith, and when we RELEASE our faith, we are showing ourselves, God, and the world that even though we have to go through some hard things and live through some hard times, and even though the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, we have the power and authority within to enjoy life and to have it in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. When we RELEASE our faith, we show that we believe that no matter what is going on, God is working behind the scenes to make sure that all things are working together for us because we believe.

We RELEASE our faith by doing three things:

1 - Praying
2 - Believing
3 - Saying
4 - Doing

This Week

Pray without ceasing and rejoice always. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God. After you have prayed, have FAITH and believe in God's power to move mountains. Have FAITH and believe that God is working for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose. Talk like you believe. When you RELEASE your faith by praying, talk like you expect your prayers to be answered. Talk positively. Tell yourself, "Something good is going to happen to me and through me today." Then live like your prayers will be answered. Do the work. RELEASE your faith by doing the work that it takes to make your prayers and dreams come true.

When Kwity was in 8th grade, he believed that he would earn a college scholarship. He said he would, then he put in the work. Now, Kwity can tell his mom that she will never have to work again. They had faith, they RELEASED their faith, they put in the work, and mountains were moved for them to live life abundantly, to the full, until it overflows.

RELEASE your faith and see what God can do!

1 - What is one thing that God has worked out for your favor?

2 - What is one thing that you need more faith in?

3 - What prayer can you pray to RELEASE your faith in that area?

4 - What is one thing that you can do to RELEASE your faith in that area?

For a Google doc version, click here: Week 18 Devotional | RELEASE