Have you ever answered a call from a doctor’s office and been given unexpected and unwelcome news concerning a medical examination or test? Ever found yourself suddenly facing an emergency you could never have imagined only moments earlier? Has any shocking negative event, that requires an action or reaction from you, come upon you without warning? Most likely, you’ve experienced something of this nature at some time during your life.
How do you handle such circumstances effectively? How do you respond in these trying situations? What is your strategy for taking control in times like these? Your answer is critical, because the first thing you say will determine your outcome. This is true because you are your own confirming witness. The establishment of fact by the mouth of two or three witnesses is a scriptural principle (Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1, Hebrews 10:28).
In every circumstance, like those above, you are confronted by two reports. One is an evil report … one from the enemy … from the pit of hell. The other is the report of the Lord … the Word of God … what the Bible says about it. Whose report will you believe? Whichever you choose to speak first, the evil report or the report of the Lord, will dictate the outcome of the situation you are facing. When you agree with one or the other, you become the second, or confirming, witness in the case. What you say will confirm and establish the facts and the “sentence” you will receive. The Bible says that “death and life are in the power of the tongue …” (Proverbs 18:21). You have a choice and can dictate your outcome according to what you say. Job 22:28 says, “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you.”
A real-life example of putting this principle into practice occurred in my family’s lives one day nearly two decades ago. Our son was four years old. He had recently believed for and received a bunk bed. He was standing roughly in the center of the top bed. My wife and I were standing just a few feet away. We were all worshipping the Lord when suddenly, for no apparent reason, our son went from standing still to hurtling through the air. He landed squarely on the crown of his head in front of us and crumpled to the floor. My wife and I looked at one another in shock. Our eyes met but we didn’t immediately speak of what we’d just seen. Praise be to God, we knew we had to choose what to believe. As we looked at our son motionless on the floor, conscious but with no color in his face, only the shadow of fear, we didn’t speak from the flesh but from the spirit. The temptation would have been to say, “Oh my God! This doesn’t look good … his neck is broken …he’s probably paralyzed ….”
That was the evil report that the devil showed us, the thought that the enemy wanted us to agree with. However, we quickly began agreeing with the report of the Lord. My wife got in front of our son’s ears and began praying in tongues, and I got in front of his eyes and began speaking scripture including: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7); “[You] shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17); “By His stripes, [you] are healed” (Isaiah 53:5); “I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26); “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17) etc.
In just a matter of moments, my son’s stunned look of fear left his face and his color returned. He sprang to his feet, perfectly restored, as though none of it happened. Hallelujah! We were confirming witnesses in the situation. We agreed with the Word of God and confirmed the report of the Lord. By denying the evil report of the enemy, we allowed the truth to establish the facts in our case and determine the outcome.
So, when you are suddenly confronted with a decision concerning an important life or death matter, an opportunity to establish the case and determine the outcome in some dire situation presented by a demonic force, remember that you are the confirming witness. Whose report will you believe and receive? Confirm the report of the Lord by speaking what God says about the circumstances and not what the enemy would have you believe.
Marc Loomis is a staff member of Lord of Hosts Church.
