All in Christian
Is your life full of hardship and adversity right now? Are you going through the gates of sorrow, or crossing a desert in which you are feeling lost and parched? Perhaps it is illness, mourning, or some other wrenching moment! If so, then are you tempted to lash out at God and ask Him why, or to look for Jesus and cry out “Where Are You?” Sometimes we feel like we are being punished when nothing could be further from the truth.
Where do you make your home, and why? Is there a certain spiritual place that you simply visit from time to time, or have you found a place where God is, and made this your residence? Sometimes we live in a location because it suits our physical needs, or maybe because it is aesthetically pleasing and beautiful, but we should make our home where God is. We should never stray far from where our spirit converses with God.
Are you content and happy whatever your circumstances are, and wherever in life you find yourself? Do you find yourself equally at ease in a shack or a mansion? Jesus could dine in fine houses, speak to high priests and magistrates, or He could sit with the common people of the world; even the thieves, and prostitutes. What He felt about Himself wasn’t predicated upon how the world viewed Him, but how His Father saw Him. Paul was the same, and we should be as well.
On the day when victory has first been won, and we are just now saved and kneeling at the altar before Jesus, it is easy to sing of Him and give Him the glory He deserves. With our salvation just now secured, and the emotion of the moment fresh in our hearts we nearly burst with joy and long to carry Him on our shoulders, and in our hearts. But eternity is a long time and our emotion is known to fade, so how well will we glorify Him as we walk into the foreverness? Will the newness wear off, and the glory surrounding Him grow dim?
Over the course of our lives we will have many needs and we would like them all fulfilled well in advance so that we will not want, or worry about tomorrow. As human’s we want to fill a storehouse, or receive enough money in our bank account to make it through the toughest years of our lives, but that is not how God provides for us... He wants us to come to Him each day for that day’s provision.
We are the children of God, and what a wonderful realization that is. Being God’s children is being loved by the very heart, and the origination of all love... and this understanding is amazing beyond description. We might stand in awe of God’s power, but His love is His true strength, and our greatest joy.
It has often been said, and it is true, that we come closest to God when we are in the midst of our suffering... so, how is your life at this moment? Are things going exceptionally well for you? Is your day to day life bountiful, and you find yourself struggling with little to pray for? Perhaps it is time for a good cry! Maybe the tears and sweat of your prayers need to be fed by an emotional response to something dear to you... love is a great example. There is no cry so satisfying in its release and restoration than that of a broken heart.
We have paintings and drawings of Jesus, and there are representations of him made into statues and crucifixes, but none of these were made while He lived, or by anyone who actually saw Him. All of these are conjecture, or were made as the result of an artist’s imagination. Although it is true, that no firsthand image was made, it can still be said that there are millions upon millions of paintings, photographs, statues, and busts, of Jesus in existence... so how is this so without creating a graven image; a golden calf?
If you have been a Christian for any period of time you more than likely have faced periods of bountiful faith, and those of withering spiritual drought as well. How easy it is to fall, and hard it is to pick ourselves back up again. Where are you at this moment? Are you standing on the mountaintop surrounded by glory, working your way towards the summit, or lying in the valley of your own despair?
Do you put your trust in the council of God? Do you ask once, twice, or every time a decision needs to be made? So often we attempt to face life alone, and when our plans don’t go as expected we cry out “Lord, how could you allow this to happen!” The depth of your faith is gauged not in fathoms, but in trust.
How great is our love for Jesus? Is it so great that the mere mention of His name cause a feeling of love and sanctification to rise up within us? The various names of Jesus should bring us joy and cause our spirits to leap within us, but this is not true until our faith in Him is complete, and He has saved us from sin. Jesus redeems us, and in so doing He changes not only what we do outwardly, but who we are inside... our very character.
Are you satisfied to remain where you are in your life, and likewise your faith? Are you resisting the moves that God has called you to make? So often complacency and fear trap us in circumstances both physical, and spiritual, and in so doing, this slowly destroys our joy, and our faith begins to fade. We are meant to be on a journey through life, and a pilgrimage towards greater faith and relationship with God. A moment’s rest is good, but the walk ahead brings us joyously into the presence of the Lord.
Do you wear the armor of God when you go out into the world? Do you put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit? When you put these on do you consider yourself fully clothed and ready to face whatever evil the day brings? Well my friend, although we count our armor as complete, there is one piece lacking that is crucial, and we seldom list it as being part and parcel of our armor.
As Christians we study a great deal on the life of Jesus, and we focus heavily on the cross, but there is one fact that we minimize... Jesus was always doing the will of God. Jesus rose in the morning to speak with His Father, continued speaking with Him all day long, and then spoke to Him before retiring in the evening. Why did He do this, and why should we likewise be in constant conversation with God?
Are you so embarrassed and disappointed in your sins that you shy away from God when He calls for you? Do you think that what you have done is so abhorrent to the Lord that just the sight of you will cause Him to shudder and withdraw? Well our God doesn’t see you as a sinner, but as forgiven, washed clean and made worthy by the blood of Christ. Because of Jesus God sees you as who you are, and what you are becoming, and not as who you once were. His love is made complete in you once again by His grace.