05/15/2023
Troubles are a part of our lives. In daily life we face many trials, but as Christians and believers in God the Father, we face them from a point of great advantage and strength. We find confidence in God's ability to bring us through them, and they strengthen our faith, but what of the good times?
“For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”
Psalms 18:29-30 ESV
What are our troubles today? Maybe this is a good day and we are between the trials that come, and in this we are giving thanks to God, but then again, perhaps we are facing a time of great challenge. Our faith in Christ should be sufficient to carry us through both days. Both circumstances bring us to the Father, but it might surprise us to know that in the good times we are more likely to stray.
A good day begins with me awakening, refreshed, from a sound sleep. The sun is streaming through the window, it is a beautiful spring morning, and I don't have a care in the world. I step out of bed and stretch before heading to the coffee pot, and my comfortable chair to read, pray, and write. But, the morning is so perfect that once I have poured my coffee, I forego my morning time of devotion and turn on the news instead.... I have taken the first misstep in an otherwise perfect day.
Every journey begins with one step, and pilgrimages of faith are no different. The day in my example was exceptionally wonderful, but my first step had taken me off the righteous path that brings me to God each day. Does this sound familiar to you? On good days are you inclined to say a quick "thank you", but during days of trouble you seek Jesus with all your heart?
“"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,”
Deuteronomy 8:11-14 ESV
It is easy to become complacent on the sunny days. The temptation is to rest and enjoy the day that the Lord has made... and there is merit in doing so... but not at the expense of doing so alone. Let's skip forward a hundred psalms from our first scripture and read again...
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalms 118:24 ESV
We like this verse, and know the feeling well! That overflowing sense of euphoria and joy we experience on trouble-free days of plenty. Days like that make it easy for us to linger there and miss the very next verse.
“Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!”
Psalms 118:25 ESV
When we cherry pick scripture we often feed the mood we are feeling, and this one is commonly quoted by believers on glorious days, but this Psalm is one of thanksgiving for God's rescue from a time of hardship. It begins with words like "Thanks" and "His steadfast love endures." So God has delivered the house of Aaron, and now a period of joy is at hand, but the psalmist knows that this is only a time between trials and following the very next verse says... "save us we pray."
Why should we ask the Lord to save us on days of joy and peace? It is because we should know that between the periods of peace and calm that we will experience more trouble, and that on a spiritual level we should realize that during times of plenty we are more likely to lose our zeal and faith in God and Jesus Christ.
Paul knew this too. He wrote to the Philippians and spoke to them of it. He told them how to face the good times and the bad times alike. His words speak no less truth to us, than they did to the Philippians those many years ago:
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:12-13 ESV
So we are in danger during the times of plenty... in fact, we are spiritually in more danger in these times than during our seasons of strife and hardship. This is true because in those times of suffering we desperately seek after God, and call out to Jesus, but during our smooth days we are inclined to depend on our own abilities and selves. When our life is good, and our path is straight and smooth, we tend to rest and lounge in that comfortable place where our faith and dependence on God can be forgotten.
Let’s ask ourselves… are we in such a place today? Is our faith, righteousness, and trust in God, in danger at this very moment? Or, are we holding firm to Him in the midst of a desperate need?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the times of suffering that bring me to great faith, but I thank you equally for the perseverance of faith that you give me in the sweet times between hardships. Never let me become complacent as I seek out my salvation in fear and trembling. Let my attentiveness to your commandments, and my unceasing prayers, be equally fervent in times of plenty just as they are in times when I need your deliverance. You come to rescue me when I am suffering, but when I rest during the peaceful days, I pray that you lay beside me, and never let my eyes stray from you. In the slow current between the raging waters of a tumultuous life, and in the wide smooth miles as my river flows calmly into the sea, be with me always Lord, and let your Holy Spirit rest within me as I lean on you. Carry me closer to home Jesus... even when the pace of life has slowed and I am tempted to feel safe in myself.
Rich Forbes