07/30/2020
Do we confess our sins, repent, and ask God for forgiveness? Do we walk with Jesus each day and bare every transgression to Him so that He can intercede for us regarding it, and we can face it head on? Do we do all these things and neglect to talk with Him about the condition of our faith? Hiding our problems in dealing with life, our doubts, the times when we feel alone, and yes, our personal grappling with faith, does us no good, doesn’t give aid to those around us who similarly struggle, and hides nothing from God who knows our heart.
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13 ESV
The devil might cause us physical pain, or give us sinful earthly delight, but he does these things to reach inside us, and damage our faith and relationship with God. Our bodies are of little concern to him beyond serving as instruments with which to operate upon our souls... by way of destroying our faith.
“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV
Jesus was tempted three times when He came out of the wilderness, and each one of these were physical temptations, but they were meant to lead him away from His faith, and damage Him spiritually by tempting Him to doubt in God’s love, and absolute position of Lordship over Him. He was tempted to question His faith in God’s provision, faith in God’s deliverance, and faith in God’s desire for His humility, and self-sacrifice. We face such temptations as well, but like Christ we are given the wherewithal to defeat it, and the additional strength of faith that such moments of temptation ultimately reveal to us.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
I have known more than one saint who hid their brokenness from others, and denied the fact that their faith, although strong, was a struggle for them... just as it is a struggle for everyone who walks through the world. Temptation is meant to be hard, and the world is rife with it. When we deny that we wrestle with life, and our sin, then we are lost indeed, and we are of no use to others who Satan leads into doubt. Jesus didn’t hide His temptation following the wilderness, nor His doubt, and desire to avoid what was ahead of Him, as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He showed us this side of Himself to be of help to us when we are tempted, or find ourselves in doubt...
“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
Hebrews 2:18 ESV
Mother Theresa was a saint in life as she served so many, and led a life that was filled with sacrifice, piousness, and was exemplary in regards to her faith, but after her death a compilation of letters that she had written to her peers, and superiors, within the church, we’re published, and they revealed something quite different about her... she had struggled throughout her life in faith.
"Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear," - Mother Theresa
She wrote of such doubt and challenges of faith to others who were facing similar hardship at the hand of the dark one, or who she thought could encourage her in her struggle. She did so in an effort to help them, and to find escape from Satan’s attack against her own soul. Each of us should confront our doubts, fears, and struggles of faith in like manner. We should help each other, and by so doing help ourselves in their faith. Every hardship in life gives the appearance that it is weakening us, but that is a physical observation; spiritually we are being strengthened, and our faith, although challenged, is bolstered mightily against future attack. Such times led Mother Theresa to afterwards say such encouraging things as...
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” - Mother Theresa
and...
“I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness” - Mother Theresa
I could easily have used myself to illustrate our struggle in faith, but I used Mother Theresa as a well-known modern day example of our being challenged in faith. From the lowliest of us, to the greatest saints we know, even those who stand out on the world stage as being amazing in their faith, each of them struggles in their faith, and seeks continuously for not only salvation but the faith it takes to be judged righteous. Those who are truly faithful reveal the great challenges, and struggles, they have encountered while being transformed by God. Do we confess all our sins, do we talk with Jesus about our hardships in faith, do we ask for forgiveness, and very importantly, do we speak to one another about the moments of spiritual crisis we have faced, and how we were led through them into a stronger faith? Do we find encouragement in our walks with the Lord by encouraging those around us? Think on these things today.
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for strengthening me in my love and faith in you. Thank you for your Son Jesus who shows me how to face the dark one when he confronts me with temptation, and how to resist him when he tries to destroy my faith in you. Help me Holy Father to be a witness to others of not only the gospel of Jesus, and how to obey your will as He did, but a witness as to the present day struggles I face in my own faith, and how I have overcome them through prayer, your Holy Spirit, and your amazing grace through Jesu Christ. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who takes the hardships and temptations of the world, and works them for good. Praised be your name for every temptation you have led me to resist, and every increase in faith I have gained from so doing. Hear my prayers, and lift me up from my knees victorious in my faith. Give me the strength in faith I need to do your will, and love you with all my heart. Find me worthy to sit at your eternal table, and to do so with those who I have encouraged in faith, and who have encouraged me.
“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:3-5 ESV
Rich Forbes