“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more” (Mark 4:24 NIV).

           How do you measure God’s Word? According to Mark 4:24, God will measure to us how we hear and measure His Word.
           
            For example, when we read 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed” (NIV), do we stand in faith and keep on believing until we receive our healing, or do we measure the verse with skepticism?
           
        When our bank account says zero and the rent is due, how do we hear and measure Philippians 4:19, “Moreover, my God will fill every need of yours according to his glorious wealth, in union with the Messiah Yeshua” (CJB)? Do we keep looking at our bank account or standing on the promise of God?      

             Measuring God’s Word with faith can be challenging. Recently, I read about a woman who was believing God for a new house. She lived in a beat-up little house and wanted a new one more than anything. When she came across Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law” (NLT), she wondered how she could ever purchase a new home without borrowing money. She was tempted to measure the verse as a curse. But she refused to measure it that way. Instead, she resisted the lies of Satan telling her she would never have a new home, and started believing God to provide her one debt free. And what she believed God for, He did.

​              We get what we expect from God, how we hear and measure His Word. So, if you want to receive blessings by the bushel load, go to His Word with a bushel basket. Give God something to work with. If you put a big measure of faith in His hand, He’ll fill it until it overflows.

         Are you facing adversity right now? Do you feel as if God has abandoned you? Take heart. The enemy isn’t fighting you because of where you are. He’s fighting you for where you are going. The devil is threatened by what God has in store for you and is doing his level best to hold you back. Don’t let him.

​         Consider David, the second king of Israel. Samuel anointed David to be king when he was a young man tending sheep. Yet many years passed before he became king. And during that time, he was pursued by Saul, the first king of Israel, trying to take his life. But Satan couldn’t stop God’s plan for David, and he became king. “So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and equity to all his people” (1 Chronicles 18:14).

        And what about Joseph? In his youth, God gave him dreams about his future. In his first dream, his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. In the second dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him. Yet between those dreams and their fulfillment, Joseph faced a great deal of adversity. His brothers sold him as a slave. He was wrongly accused and ended up in prison for something he didn’t do. Those who could have spoken up for him forgot all about him. Satan tried to derail God’s plans for Joseph’s life but he didn’t succeed. Joseph said to his brothers, “As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 Berean Study Bible).

        Then there’s Moses. He was born under a death threat. “…the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives… “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live” (Exodus 1:15-16 GW). Satan is always out to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). But God had the final say regarding Moses. Moses lived and God used him to deliver the children of Israel out of the land of slavery. “The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering…So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:7,10 NIV).

​        So don’t be discouraged when you face adversity and opposition. Do like James tells us. “Consider it pure joy…when you encounter trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2, BSB). God has something great in store for your future. When Jesus rose from the dead, Satan and all his demons were defeated. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15, BSB). Stay in faith and trust God for your future. The best is yet to come.