Are YOU STRONG and PERSEVERING in Your FAITH?

You Never Know how STRONG You are, until being STRONG is the Only Choice you Have.

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.” – Exodus 4:13

This verse contains God’s command to believers for those times when we are confronted with dire circumstance and extraordinary difficulties. What must Christians do when we cannot retreat or go forward and relief seems blocked on every front?

God’s word says: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm.” So the best thing we can do at this time is to listen only to the Holy Spirit, for others will come with their suggestions and ungodly advice, but the Lord says: “Be still, and know that I am God” – Psalm 46:10.

“Do not be afraid” is one of the great messages recurring all through the Scriptures and Isaiah 26:3 sum it up perfectly, why we should not be afraid – “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.”

The enemy [Satan] however, will come and will whisper soothing relief in the form of... “Give up”. But even in the worst of times, God will enable by His Spirit to be joyful and courageous, rejoicing in His love and faithfulness even though we face dire circumstances.

Fear will tempt us to act the way the world does and try to convince us that it is too difficult for us to continue living the life of a Christian. In a moment of weakness we might think that being a Christian is too hard, yet no matter how much Satan may pressure us to follow the easy way out; we cannot, because as believers we are God’s children and Jesus paid with His life for our salvation.

Impatience and anxiety will come, crying. “Get up and do something!”  But the very thing we should be doing during this time is having our eyes fixed on the Lord, because He will not only do something, He will do everything we need. As Moses said to his people, “you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.”

God has us right where He wanted us to be. The sons of Israel were in the perfect will of God and yet their faith was being tested. We might be in a situation where we are surrounded, and the enemy is coming at us from all directions. The enemy is mocking and telling us how foolish it is to trust God; and tells us that it will do us no good to have faith. However, God had a purpose in bringing the children of Israel to the Red Sea and He has a purpose for the challenges we might be facing in our lives. When we face difficulties in life, God wants to accomplish two things...

He wants to make known His glory to others and He wants to teach us to trust Him completely.  Rely on Him, Trust Him and nothing or no one else!

Exodus 14:4 states... “But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

We must rely on God’s promises. He said, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” God promised them that He would take care of them and that He was going to fight their battles for them. All they had to do was stand firm, face up to the challenge courageously and be still, which simply means they had to focus on God and on His promises.  The same goes for Christians today.

God has a plan; it may be something different than we could ever imagine, but He has a plan. He will get us to the other side of our Red Sea if we trust Him and persevere... stand STRONG. He has not left us and we are never on our own, even though there are times when we feel very alone. We do not have to fight this battle, we just need to stand still, firmly grounded in our faith and know that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” – Ephesians 3:20

Know this... the enemy will not give up easily. Pride will come, boasting, “If someone is blocking your way, take care of the situation yourself.” Yet true faith never listens to arrogance, impatience, fear, or despair but only hears God saying. “Stand firm,” and then faith stands as immovable as a rock. 

We must maintain the posture of one who stands firm, ready for action, expecting further orders, and cheerfully and patiently awaiting the Master’s voice. It will not be long until God will say to us, as distinctly as He told Moses to tell the children of Israel... “Move on” – Exodus 14:15 

In times of uncertainty, wait; if you have any doubt, wait; never forcing yourself into “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” God Himself will guide to this place of renewal, refreshment and STRENTH. – Romans 15:13

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The “Why” for our Struggles are often Elusive

Humans like everything to be neatly pigeon holed, all things properly in their place. We want the world and the events in it to make sense. But in trying to provide an explanation for everything, we sometimes miss the point. This is the way it was for Job’s friends.

The first of Job’s friends to speak was Eliphaz. He declared, “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (4:7–8). Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, Job’s three friends, were all sure that Job must have had some dirty secret at the root of his newfound troubles. They “knew” there had to be a reason for all that had happened to him. So, they badgered poor Job to confess this suspected secret sin.

Job knew there was no great hidden scandal in his life causing his calamities. He was defensive in the face of his accusers, but he also wondered ‘Why’ did the awful things happen to him? One of the difficult things for us to accept is that many of the sufferings we go through simply cannot be neatly categorized and quite often not even explained. The why is often elusive. Bad things do happen to good people. Job recognized that many times the wicked live to reach old age and even appear to prosper (21:7–13).

There are many whys that we will never know in this life. Acceptance that the why may prove elusive sets the stage for a vital lesson from the book of Job.  We must Trust God when we face difficult times in our lives.

Job was in deep despair. His whole life had been turned upside down. He had lost his wealth and his loved ones in a series of sudden calamities. Now his health was failing. Why? Job was deeply frustrated because he could not make sense out of his trials. Yet in the depths of perplexity and despair he made one of the most profound declarations of faith recorded in the Bible... “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (13:15).

In Job 19 we read the words of anguish that poured from Job’s lips. “Know that God has overthrown and put me in the wrong, and has closed His net about me.... He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and He has set darkness upon my paths.... My kinsfolk have failed me, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.... I am repulsive to my wife and loathsome to the children of my own mother” (v. 6, 8, 14, 17 Amplified Bible). Yet even at this low point of anguish and bewilderment, Job declares his heartfelt trust in God. “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth.... I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself” (v. 25–27).

It is relatively easy to trust God when things are going the way we like them. When the world around us makes sense it is fairly easy to believe God is in charge. But what about when things turn upside down and inside out? It is in the midst of such perplexity and anguish that faith in God is most needed.

One of the things Satan never understood about Job was his motive. Satan thought Job only served God because it was to his advantage to do so. He was convinced that if God removed blessings and protection, Job would curse and revile Him. But that was not true. Job loved God and served Him out of sincere devotion. He trusted God even when he was feeling abandoned. This lesson of steadfast trust is one of the most important aspects of character we can gain from any trial.

Life can often seem unfair. There are those who make no pretense of serving God and yet they seem to be doing well. There are others who are genuinely trying, but they are experiencing many difficulties and setbacks. What we have to keep in mind is that this life’s problems are temporary.

Job noticed that there were wicked men whose “houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; their cow calves without miscarriage” (21:9–10). Yet he realized that was not the end of the story. In verse 30 of the same chapter, Job said, “For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; they shall be brought out on the day of wrath.” Even though it may seem that life is not fair, God is a God of justice.  The conclusion of the book of Job reveals, “Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (42:12). In the long run, there are blessings for obedience, relationship with God is the greatest of all blessings.

Trust is essential if we are to respond to God as the great Teacher who is preparing and refining us for eternity.  It was only when Job began coming to grips with the lessons that God wanted Him to learn that he began emerging from his period of great trial.

God focuses on the bottom line, the end result, the finished man who has learned a lesson from pain and suffering. He wants us to be set apart from the ways and thinking of the world. Job was an exemplary man but he had a flaw. The Scriptures say Job’s problem was that “he was righteous in his own eyes and that “he justified himself rather than God” (32:1–2). Ultimately Job emerged with a far deeper understanding of the Almighty as well as a deeper understanding of himself and his own human nature. “Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes,” Job told God (42:6).

A vital lesson that all of us must learn in order to please God and to begin emerging from a trial is that of mercy and forgiveness. Job’s friends were miserable comforters. Regardless of their motives, they were a great part of Job’s trial. Yet notice the turning point when Job began to emerge from his great adversity... “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (v. 10).

Job came to really know God deeply, not simply to know about Him. He became a far more humble and compassionate man as a result of what he went through. 

Learning these lessons was the key to his emerging out of the dark shadows of life and into the sunlight once again.

Our trials can make us bitter or they can make us better! Which will yours do for you?

God Knows our circumstances... and Cares!

Life is difficult. That blunt, three-word statement is an accurate appraisal of our existence on this earth. When the writer of the biblical book named Job picked up his stylus to write his story, he could have begun with a similar-sounding and equally blunt sentence, “Life is unfair.”

Job is left bankrupt, homeless, helpless, and childless. He’s left standing beside the ten fresh graves of his now-dead children in a windswept valley. His wife is heaving deep sobs of grief as she kneels beside him, having just heard him say, “Whether our God gives to us or takes everything from us, we will follow Him.” She leans over to his ear and whispers, “Why don’t you just curse God and die?”

No one could argue the point that life is punctuated with hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But unfair? Something kicks in, deep within most of us, making it almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what’s unfair. Our drive for justice overrides our patience with pain.

Life is not just difficult, it’s downright unfair. Welcome to Job’s world. 

One of the most overwhelming things about a severe life–trial can be the sense of isolation. We want to make sure that God knows because when He finds out, surely He’ll do something about it! In Job first chapter we are given a behind-the-scenes look at events of which Job was completely unaware.

God, however, was very much aware of Job and of the wholehearted obedience he sought to render. In fact, God Himself called Satan’s attention to Job. Christ reminded His disciples in Luke 12:6–7 that God, who even takes detailed note of the sparrows, is much more deeply interested in the affairs of His own children. The Father is aware of everything about us down to the smallest detail. Even the hairs of our head are numbered

When we are struck with personal tragedy or persecuted for obedience, we can be sure that God knows. This is vitally important to keep in mind to counteract the sense of isolation and loneliness that will often beset us at such times. “No one understands what I’m going through,” we think. But Jesus Christ does! We have a faithful High Priest who was tested in all ways like us and is therefore able to empathize and give us the needed help (Hebrews 4:15–16).

Though Job could not begin to understand why all of these things were happening to him, he knew God was aware of it. He did not react, as Satan had predicted, by cursing God. Rather, Job told his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10).

The story recounted in chapters 1 and 2 makes us privy to actual conversations between God and Satan! When we begin reading the book of Job we learn that, while God allowed Satan to afflict Job, He set limits beyond which the devil could not pass. From the start we know there are limits to Job’s trial, and we know what those limits are. Initially, God restricted Satan from harming Job’s health. Later, He allowed Job to be personally stricken, but insisted that his life be spared. 

In all of this we have an advantage over Job. At the time he was going through adversity, Job knew nothing of the conversation between God and Satan. He knew nothing of any limits God had pre-imposed upon his trial.

We know how Satan works. We also know his limitations.  When we find ourselves in the midst of great adversity, we must always keep in mind that God has established limits to our trials, but we just do not know what those limits are!

This is perhaps one of the hardest lessons to keep in mind. Job wanted God to vindicate him in the eyes of his friends. People ridiculed him (30:1, 9) and that can be hard to take. When Elihu began to answer Job on behalf of God in chapters 32 through 37, he pointed out that Job had been wrongly focused during much of his trial. In Job 33:12–22, Elihu explains that God instructs and chastens in various ways. God has His reasons for how He deals with us. And sometimes they are beyond our understanding.

Remember that Job has done nothing to deserve such unbearable pain. If it had been you, how would you have responded?  Job was so certain of his innocence and of the injustice of his afflictions that for a long time he was unable to see beyond that. He tried to defend himself from the false conclusions of his friends and in so doing was unable to see areas of needed growth in his life.

Again, God has reasons for allowing whatever happens... though we are often at a loss to fathom what they are. In our trials and tests, James encourages us to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5). If we do so in faith, He will surely give it. Whatever the trial or test, there is always growth that can be achieved. Even Jesus Christ Himself learned by the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). God wants us to grow in Spiritual Character.

Therefore, we must undergo periodic pruning and grooming to stimulate growth to maturity (John 15:2).