When we serve the Lord we don't judge the Lord or his faithfulness by our circumstances in fact the opposite is true. We pray and seek the Lord, we focus on him, and we read his word prayerfully. We ask the Lord to teach us his truth and his ways from his Word and we gradually (not overnight) learn to interpret life from the Word. So, we learn to stop seeing what we see circumstantially and we learn to start seeing by choice. We see what is invisible by seeing by faith. So, for example, if the Word says "we walk by faith and not by sight" and then it says "trust in the Lord at ALL times and lean not on our own understanding in all our ways acknowledge him and he will direct our paths" then we do it. We don't do it for a week and then things don't go the way we hoped and then we stop. No, we relentlessly pursue the Lord and trust in his Word even if what we see with our eyes is directly opposite to what the Word says. The Word becomes the standard for understanding life. Its all part of the exchanged life of a Christian. Romans 12:1-2 talks about this as well.
It doesn't work to follow God and still base our beliefs and feelings about things based on the ever-changing and out of our control circumstances of life. That is like putting a square peg in a round hole.
No, instead we stop acting on the truth of our eyes only and we start believing and acting on the truth of scripture. We literally make a living sacrifice of our minds and beliefs and say, "ok Lord, this seems ridiculous but if I am supposed to trust you when everything is crumbling around me and rejoice in the Lord then I will", etc. This is very hard, it takes practice, many failures happen along the way, but as we consistently force ourselves into this mold of obeying God through scripture and prayer our entire lives and minds are slowly transformed into a life of peace, hope, and power and he will be faithful to the things he has said in his Word- we just have to relentlessly believe it. Imagine the character and strength we develop in him as we force ourself over a course of years and years to trust in him no matter what. That is the kind of person God can really use.
God make us that way.
1 comment:
Hello Brian,
I happened upon your Web site "The Christian Business Guy" during my lunch hour today and wanted to tell you how much I appreciated the sound doctrinal values you share with others. The passion you have for Christ and those who need Him who are crippled by the sin in their lives is evident.
You have a lot of great things to say and I look forward to reading more on your Web site and blog.
What a wonderful ministry you have -- sharing the power of God through His son Jesus Christ to hurting people who need Him so much, and your presentation of His love in such a friendly, truthful, and honest manner is a lovely testimony to the rest of us in His family who hope to spread the Gospel daily, as you are so aptly doing.
Thank you for your service to the King of Kings!
Blessings,
Laura Harter
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