A Christian life is not easy. We will face many difficulties along the way. We messed up along our journey. We fall short from the glory of God. We sin...We loose our focus. We loose our faith. We doubt and many more. But these need not derail us. In fact, as we go through difficult times staying close to Jesus, and believing that HE will go through us and before us, we will emerge stronger, wiser and more Christ-like.
Having a relationship with God does not protect us from ‘distress’. Sometimes or most of the time we often feels as if God has rejected us and that we will never experience God’s favour again especially when we are facing challenges in our spiritual journey.
But God is assuring us that He listens to our cry. Tell God exactly what we’re feeling: ‘I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord. God likes our honesty. There is a therapeutic effect in asking honest questions. God’s people bring their doubts, difficulties and distress to God and question him. Even Jesus, on the cross, asked a question, quoting Psalm 22:1: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46).
God wants us to be real with him. He does not want us to pretend that all is well. He wants to hear the cry of our heart. This draws us close to HIM, even in times of great distress.
God does not say that there won’t be any troubles but he does promise to deliver us from them all. He is especially close in the tough times, ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit’. When you are going through a difficult time, you may not necessarily feel God is close, but he is: ‘God is there every time’. ‘God pays for each slave’s freedom’ He promises that there is no condemnation for those who take ‘refuge in him’ (Romans 8:1).(Psalm34:17,19,21).
But we don't need to live in the shadows...in our shadows. Many have been struggling in their bondages, past failures, bad habits. I struggle too. They have been working so hard trying to defeat the enemy and overcome their problems. But the reality once we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior, Jesus will set us free. Most of the time we sin. Yes we all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I too sin before God. But sin's power over us will be broken because satan will be defeated by Jesus, and satan was defeated by Jesus, therefore he has no power and authority over us. Jesus already WON the victory. All he can do is to deceive our thoughts into believing that we are nothing - a product of the past - prone to failure and bondages. But God has power and authority over us, Jesus said we are free, and the only thing we need to do is to BELIEVE WITHOUT DOUBT.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36 ESV
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."”
John 8:31-32 ESV
David messed up from time to time. When he did, he repented and turned back to the Lord and followed him wholeheartedly.
Sometimes the process of becoming the person GOD wants us to be is painful. We will shed some tears. We might even want to turn back to yesterday when things were easier and seemed to make more sense. But if we decide to trust God and forge ahead anyway, there is indescribable reward. Because change doesn’t always look and feel pretty in the moment, but the outcome of change is glorious.
Remind ourselves on this truth, that God created us and determined a reason for our existence. He has a great plan. He has His own purpose why we are created. He has His own agenda why we are here on earth. We are all special and we have value. From the beginning of time He thought we were very important and deserved to be included in His grand plan.
We need to stay close to Jesus and listen to him. We need to guard our heart. Ask God to help us to be fully devoted to HIM and to follow HIM completely until the end of our life. Let us draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. So be of good cheer because He already overcome the world.
We have two choices for our lives. Either we can live by faith or by sight. We can trust in God's abiding presence and power or we can depend upon our own resources. But wealth, like health, status, and reputation are all subject to decay and disappearance. Only one Source is always there for us and we know we can depend upon him, because he has been there for so many who have come before us. Never is forever and this one never I cherish: "Never will I forsake you!"
Spiritual growth is like a journey. We progress one step at a time. What matters is not so much how far we have got – but that we are heading in the right direction and that we keep going.
