04/22/2025
The result of our faith is a realignment of our lives and those within it. Are you seeing this occur, and are you willing to let it happen? Are you being transformed into a new person? At the moment when we first confess our faith in Jesus and ask Him to be the Lord of our life something incredible is released in us and our entire world begins to change. The friends who were once so dear to us begin to withdraw and the places we used to frequent suddenly lose their appeal to us. A change is beginning in us that is reshuffling our lives.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
I listen to the words of Job as he is being tested and I hear the very thing that happens to each of us when our old lives die, and new lives are born. The old you has retired to his sickbed and is moments from death, the worldly person who once knew a life of sin and excess is losing his appeal to those around him... as we explore our newfound faith we come to find that it is far greater than what we are leaving behind, so we press on; holding tight to the hand of Jesus. We too will be tempted, but like Job we will not curse God and return to our past life... we will not let go of our faith.
“My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me. The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes. I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy. My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me. All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me.”
Job 19:14-19 ESV
The very things that were once so pleasing to us are vanishing one by one from our lives. These are things that please the man but strangle the soul. They pass away because they were always temporary, but they are replaced with eternal joys that will be with us always. We are journeying into a new land and as Moses told Joshua... "be strong and courageous;" because the Lord goes before you.
“Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."”
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 ESV
This time of a burgeoning new faith is one in which we become aware of God and meet Jesus face to face. We are making a choice for ourselves that no one can make for us. Stepping out on our own to grasp belief and faith in Jesus is difficult and it often frightens us, but if we listen to God’s voice He will lead us, His Spirit will give us utterance in prayer, and Jesus will reassure us and tell us to not be afraid as He comes to ab ide in us and we walk together.
I remember when a church I was attending lost its founding pastor to retirement; a man who had stood in our pulpit there for nearly 60 years. It shook our church to the core and many left seeking God's fulfillment elsewhere, but eventually the waves subsided and calm returned. Our congregation had leaned on this man's faith for many years, but his departure had forced each of us to face our own relationship and faith with God in a very personal way. We each questioned who we were spiritually and had to sit down with God and Jesus for a talk that had been long in coming. The faith we had been borrowing was becoming our own.
Today that season of being shaken is behind this congregation, and a new day is at hand. This church is positioned to rise up once again and rebuild God's tabernacle on the very place that they once feared it had been lost. Many of those who were scattered are slowly returning and God is blessing the remnants as His children... gathering each into a new relationship with Him. They are beginning to realize the Lord’s restoration.
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Job 42:10 ESV
You see, even though we might initially give up much when we begin our journey with Jesus, God will restore those things and provide us with much more. The friends who abandon us will be replaced with new friends; the family that drew back from us will see God in our lives and come forth to join us; the possessions that we gave up will not be missed and new ones will please us all the more. This is what awaits us in our relationship with Jesus... our God is mighty and good... even as Paul told the Philippians:
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Philippians 4:19-20 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for separating me from the greater flock and adding me to those lambs which are your own. Though day by day I am leaving much behind in the world I am finding that with each new morning I am choosing a freshness of spiritual life in you. I know that I have found a bolder and more vibrant joy in loving you as you shepherd me on to greener and more bountiful pastures. Lord your water refreshes and is full of life. It is clear and pure as it renews my soul. Your hand protects me; in your care I find love and mercy without end, and under your watch I will forever be content. Jesus thank you for your sacrifice and the very personal relationship you have entered into with me. No man can bring me before God except you, and no woman could give me the birth that you have given me in Spirit. We are alone, yet together, in your presence and in the care of God there is nothing more I want, nothing more I need. I call out with you to our Heavenly Father saying Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who was, and is, and is to come. I say in shout, and whisper, Holy are you who loves me so much that you were willing to give your Son Jesus as the perfect lamb for my redemption from sin, and through His death, have brought me a new life in Him. Praised be your name Holy Father, and blessed be your Son Jesus who abides in me and I in Him. Fill me with a new life in which I am transformed with each breath I take and He has become the cornerstone. Hear me as I pray to you in His name, and repeat after Him… “your will be done.”
Father, this is a new day, and I am refreshed in my walk with you. This is a new day in which my voice has been refreshed, and I am singing ever so sweetly to all who will listen… Hallelujah, Hallelujah to the Son of the Almighty and one true God… Christ has risen, and with His rising He has secured and increased my belief, my faith, and made my life eternal. In His name I find a newness of life, and all I desire as I pray to our Heavenly Father. Join me now in singing…
Amen, Amen, Amen!
Rich Forbes