He Himself has said, "I
will never leave you nor forsake you." —Hebrews 13:5
{CHAMBERS} “What line of thinking do my thoughts take? Do I turn to
what God says or to my own fears? Am I simply repeating what God says, or am I
learning to truly hear Him and then to respond after I have heard what He says?
“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may
boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ ”
(Hebrews 13:5-6).[…] “I will never…forsake you.” Sometimes it is not the
difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake
me. […] … as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here
and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us, the most
amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the
ordinary days and ways of life.”
{ELGIN} In my experience the greatest
enemy facing my and my desire to follow God and yield to His leading and ways
is, well…. It’s me. I find it so easy to
agree with God and acknowledge His precepts as right, and yet, when faced with
life I turn to me and not Him. The
phrase Living by Faith is meant to be a plaque on the living room wall … or
merely a pleasantry that we acknowledge as being right. To live by faith – in God – means to trust
Him first. Living by faith is not like
one of the bodily functions controlled by the autonomic nervous system .. like
breathing and heart beats … something that you don’t have to think about …
Living by faith is intentional … an act of the will. If you are struggling in your faith, it is
most likely that the source of the struggle is you .. not your
circumstance. Like the man who said to
Jesus “Help me with my unbelief” (Mark 9:21-24) “Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has
he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him
into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and
help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who
believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me
overcome my unbelief!””
In this life on Earth, we are
not spared form hardship or heartache, but … we can endure whatever life brings
our way if we will only have faith in the One who sent His Son … Who created us
from dust and breathed life into us.
Once in our natural birth and then again in our rebirth when He sealed
us with His Spirit – the Breath of God. I
know that trusting God in the midst of the turmoil of life can be difficult ..
maybe you think impossible … If Christians neglect the disciplines of the faith
… if Sunday is the sum total of the time they spend with the Father … then when
the test comes . .and it will come, they will likely get a failing grade. Not because God was not able to sustain them,
but because they chose to ignore Him and trust themselves. Why is something that seems so simple, so
hard to do? Because its our nature to trust ourselves even if it always leads
to failure. Remember that is the
definition of insanity.
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