A true relationship with Jesus far outweighs the struggles that come with following Him. As a bonafide introvert that typically finds personal relationships sticky to say the least, I am so grateful for all of the wonderful fellow believers God has brought into our life in the past year. I am also grateful for all that God continues to bless us with in our day to day lives.
When you walk in the light and the will of God, He opens doors you never thought could be opened.
“…Lord, to whom who can we go? You have the words of eternal life!” (John 6:68)
A friend of mine shared this little meditation with me this morning and I found it very encouraging and powerful. Timothy and Kathy Keller have a wonderful way of sharing God’s Word, and they have an interesting perspective that I find both inspiring and engaging. In this meditation, Timothy says that faith is a deliberate ACTION and Kathy adds that it is based on the confidence we have in God’s proven character.
Our faith can be strengthened or weakened based on how we use it when experiencing the struggles of life. We can see the inevitable struggles of life as a means of developing steadfastness and building personal character or we can see them in a way that is less productive, like not realizing God loves us and He has not abandoned us in some way because He is allowing us to suffer needlessly in our futile opinion. Timothy states it well when he says, “You’re refusing to exercise the faith you have when you panic.” Just as the disciples did in Luke 8:24-25 and Jesus then asked them “Where is your faith?”
When life throws us struggles we should see them as the blessings they are, they are times for us to pull out our faith and remember how much Jesus loved us when He decided to die on the cross for our sins. God never abandons us, He is always right there with us, asking us to remember all that He has done for us and asking us to reflect on His loving and holy nature.