Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you were in faith, but you realized later on that you really were not?  Sometimes is can seem difficult to really know whether or not you are in a place of faith, hope, or possibly even unbelief.  But there’s one test that will always give you an indication of where you are: the No Other Options test. 

 

 

So, what is the “No Other Options” test?  Let’s use an illustration.  It’s springtime, and you know that the pollen count is going to be high.  You have in the past dealt with seasonal allergies, and they have become so bad that often times it is difficult to function because of sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes.  You make a decision, that you have had enough of dealing with allergies, and you are going to use your faith to believe God for your healing.  So, you wake up, have your quiet time with God, get dressed and head to work.  Immediately, the symptoms hit you.  Your eyes are so watery that you can hardly see to drive.  Then, you remember that you have made a decision to believe God to be healed from seasonal allergies.  So, you begin to speak the word of God that you are healed by Jesus stripes to combat the symptoms.  As you are confessing, you see a CVS Pharmacy coming up.  The thought comes to mind, “Maybe you should stop by and get some medication just in case this confessing doesn’t work.”  So, you pull over and run into the store, grab a pack of medicine, get back in your car and continue making your confessions.  You confess for several hours, and the symptoms never go away.  So finally, you make a decision to go ahead and take the allergy medicine to get some relief.  But, in the back of your mind, you can’t seem to figure out why your “faith” didn’t seem to work.

 

Do you see what the “No Other Options” test is?  Many times we think the act of quoting scriptures or even praying automatically means that you are in faith.  But, if we’re really honest, in our minds we don’t believe the words are confession, because we already have an option set-up for “if” our “faith” doesn’t work.  We must believe we receive – WHEN WE PRAY.  If you truly believe, there are no other options, because what God’s Word says is the ONLY truth.  Don’t let symptoms tell you what the Truth is.  Don’t doubt, only believe.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  There is nothing wrong with taking medicine, and it does not mean that you do not have faith if you take it.  So PLEASE DO NOT STOP taking your medicine, especially if you have a life-threatening condition.  You don’t prove that you are in faith by not taking your medicine; you stop taking your medicine because you KNOW you know longer need it.  If your faith has not reached that level yet, keep taking your medicine until you have assurance in YOUR spirit, that you no longer need it.  This assurance can ONLY come from the Holy Spirit; not from another person.  So, if you still need medicine, continue to build up your faith by reading and hearing, and declaring God’s Word .  Begin to use your faith in smaller areas first.  Again, when you’re

 

ready to put your faith on the “Big Stuff”, you’ll know it, and there will be NO OTHER OPTIONS.