Jesus
said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see
the glory of God?" —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in
your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a
commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is
not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the
natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common
sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus
Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, “It’s
all a lie”? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I
believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the
demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your
Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42). Every time my theology
becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As
soon as I say, “I believe ‘God shall supply all [my] need,’ ” the testing of my
faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength runs dry and my vision is
blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back
in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it
can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging
your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will
kill it. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” Matthew
11:6). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. “We have become partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” (Hebrews
3:14). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will
strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to
the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is
absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us.
Keep
your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake
you."
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6
No comments:
Post a Comment