Now the just shall live by faith: Heb 10:38
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2Co 5:7
Everyone has faith in something, whether it is in their spouse or their local football team. But that faith is easily shaken and even lost. Just watch what happens when the local football team loses 2 or 3 games in a row. Or watch how a family is destroyed by an act of infidelity. Why is their faith lost so easily? Because people let their emotions get in the way of their faith. This same thing happens with Christians all the time. When things are going great it’s easy to give thanks to God and sing praises to His name. But what happens when things aren’t going so well, or when persecution comes knocking on your door.
People tend to wonder where is God during times of struggle. Even David wondered this at times (read Psalm 6.) David may have wondered where God was and how long He would wait to deliver him but he never lost his faith. Continue reading the Psalm and you’ll discover that David knew God heard his cry and would deliver him. True faith comes out in times of struggle. When Paul was beaten and thrown into prison, rather than moan over his cuts and bruises both he and Silas were found praying and singing praises to God (Acts 16:23-25.)
Where is your faith when troubles come? Who do you turn to in times of trouble? This kind of faith doesn’t come easy and isn’t found in immature Christians. This kind of faith only comes from learning to trust in God and leaning on Him and you can only do that by knowing beyond a doubt that God will be there for you. For some they learn to do this through various methods of worship, getting to know God and fully trusting Him, I wish I were one of those people. But for those who are like me, we only learn these lessons the hard way, through experience. Having gone through some major struggles in my life, from drug and alcohol addiction to two failed marriages and other struggles to personal to mention I have seen God’s work in my life. Each time I’ve managed to mess up my life and knock myself down I have seen God lower His hand to help me back up. After living through this time and time again I have come to learn that God is always there. I’ve always knew what His word said and believed He would be there, but believing and trusting are two very different things. Believing is a voice in the back of your head telling you don’t worry, God is there, trusting is not worrying, knowing for a fact that He is there.
As Paul learned over and over again, God doesn’t remove us from the storm but He will see us through it, all we have to do is trust in Him. Remove your emotions from the situation, look through the tears and the pain and know that He is there (Heb 13:5.) Depending on the situation this may not be easy at first but believe me it gets easier and easier the more we do it. Each time you trust in God, even just a little, prepares you to trust Him even more the next time(Rom 5:3-4.)
So I ask again, where do you turn in you most desperate hour? Do you turn to drugs and/or alcohol? Do you turn to Oprah? Do you depend upon your friend? Why not try turning to God and trusting in Him!
