So. Lazarus. Let’s go there for a second. He was dead and in his grave for nearly four days and then miraculously brought back to life by his good friend Jesus. I have always loved this moment in biblical history. It has always given me hope that God can resurrect and give life, no matter how long something has been dead.

God and I have a nice, “deep” relationship that has resulted in me understanding my gifts. I believe in the power of the tongue. I know that life and death are in our words and I am working in speaking life to any situation. You know, you've got to guard what you put in the atmosphere. Imagine my elation when I felt God whisper to me, “I have given you this power too. Use it.” I never paused to consider the after effects. Sure he got up from his death bed and walked out of a tomb. The imagery is so powerful. But Lazarus’ body was decaying for days. What happened after Jesus left town again? What kind of medical issues did he face? Was he ever close to normal again? Would he rather have stayed dead?

In January, my car Francis gave out on me. It just sputtered and died. Almost no warning and there was nothing I could do to stop the corrosion and decay. I was so depressed—that car had never been in an accident. The body was in perfect shape, but the heart of the thing was all wrong. I couldn't afford a car note so there was really only one thing to do. Pray and speak life over Frank. And I did. I told myself and everyone who asked me that my car would run again. There was no way to tell the extent of the damage. I could only hope that a change of engine would get him back on the road. Miraculously, a donor car was found. There had been an accident and the body of the other car was destroyed but the engine was in perfect condition. Frank got a transplant and then we waited. The car ran again and all was well. I was so happy…that is until about three weeks later, my alternator gave out, then I got into my first accident with Frank, then my A/C blew as a result, at the height of a heat wave. I have put just about $6,000 dollars (and climbing) into a car with a blue book value of about $4,000. I love my car and I mostly feel like it was worth it and yet sometimes, I just don’t know if it was.

Today’s Task: Consider the total sum. You know that expression “be careful what you pray for”? It’s a very true statement. I‘ll take you one further: be careful what you speak life to. Make sure it’s supposed to be living. I may just be having one of those deep faith questioning days but I really do wonder if we go off course with our “deep faith”. If you don’t consider all the ramifications and repercussions of what you’re putting your faith and energy into, you may end up biting off more than you can chew. I’m just saying.