It can be so hard to endure some days.
Our faith falters, we feel abandoned.
It seems there is one thing after another that barges into our daily routine and causes us to stumble.
Sometimes we don't want to get back up.
I have felt like that a lot lately. Some days I just want to go back to bed and sleep, sleep so hard I never wake up again,and never have to face the pain of striving again.
Do you ever feel that way?
I know most of you do. So lets take a look at The Faith to Endure.
Hebrews 11:23-32.
~~By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
~~By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
~~By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
~~By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
~~By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
~~And what more shall I say?
For time would fail me to tell of the many stories of the endurance of people's faith....Yet to each of us, our times of trials seems insurmountable to us. Struggles and heartache are part of our life experiences. They are what God gives to strengthen us. Have you walked the valleys of life that seem hopeless or unending?
Even Jesus cried out from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46).
Do you ask, " Where are You, God? Why won't You do something in my life?"
I want you to be encouraged, keep holding on, even in the bleakest hour.
When your faith is stretched thin, your strength seems nearly gone, and your dreams have shattered like glass, do not give up on the Lord--that would lead only to forfeited blessings, and a strict limit on your usefulness to God.
You may just miss the blessing He has in store for you.
Remember these words:
1 John 4:3-4 ".. . you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
Giving up on divine help in favor of our own human strength is a rejection of the truth that God is faithful all the time. Holding on and staying faithful is not always going to lead to immediate triumph, sometimes we have to persist until we reach victory.
The Lord wants us to bear up under the affliction or trial, and remain steadfast in the face of temptations. Like Moses, we may be called on to endure, "as seeing Him who is unseen." (Hebrews 11:27)
Now all these words I have given you, but how can you do this?
Prayer, communion with God, speak to Him about your concerns, then turn over everything into His hands, and do not take it back from Him. Rely on Him for the answers, and He will be faithful to you.
Our faith falters, we feel abandoned.
It seems there is one thing after another that barges into our daily routine and causes us to stumble.
Sometimes we don't want to get back up.
I have felt like that a lot lately. Some days I just want to go back to bed and sleep, sleep so hard I never wake up again,and never have to face the pain of striving again.
Do you ever feel that way?
I know most of you do. So lets take a look at The Faith to Endure.
Hebrews 11:23-32.
~~By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
~~By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
~~By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
~~By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
~~By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
~~And what more shall I say?
For time would fail me to tell of the many stories of the endurance of people's faith....Yet to each of us, our times of trials seems insurmountable to us. Struggles and heartache are part of our life experiences. They are what God gives to strengthen us. Have you walked the valleys of life that seem hopeless or unending?
Even Jesus cried out from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46).
Do you ask, " Where are You, God? Why won't You do something in my life?"
I want you to be encouraged, keep holding on, even in the bleakest hour.
When your faith is stretched thin, your strength seems nearly gone, and your dreams have shattered like glass, do not give up on the Lord--that would lead only to forfeited blessings, and a strict limit on your usefulness to God.
You may just miss the blessing He has in store for you.
Remember these words:
1 John 4:3-4 ".. . you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
Giving up on divine help in favor of our own human strength is a rejection of the truth that God is faithful all the time. Holding on and staying faithful is not always going to lead to immediate triumph, sometimes we have to persist until we reach victory.
The Lord wants us to bear up under the affliction or trial, and remain steadfast in the face of temptations. Like Moses, we may be called on to endure, "as seeing Him who is unseen." (Hebrews 11:27)
Now all these words I have given you, but how can you do this?
Prayer, communion with God, speak to Him about your concerns, then turn over everything into His hands, and do not take it back from Him. Rely on Him for the answers, and He will be faithful to you.
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