December 5, 2018 AVOIDING SPIRITUAL DERAILMENT
James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”
John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
My father worked for the railroad and one of the main priorities for the railroad was to avoid derailment of the train; we do well if it is our priority to avoid spiritual derailment. Many believers who once had a passion for God have lost that passion and are now sitting on the side-line of life, content to be spectators. One major reason for this is that discouragement and disappointment sets in because of unmet expectations-things did not turn out the way they expected or hoped for. There has been a false and unbiblical message put forth that promotes the idea that if you except Jesus as Savior, everything will be well, or if you have enough faith, everything will be fine. This view of the Christian life sets us up for disappointment and discouragement. What is our response when we pray for someone who is sick and they are not healed-or when we lose our job-or when our house is destroyed by fire-or when our child is born with less than perfect health-or when a friend is killed in a car accident? Can we and do we say in those times that God is good, that He is a God of Love? Let’s face it-life can be and will be tough! As believers, we need to develop strong spiritual backbones. In order to honestly confess that God is good in the midst of a trial, we may need to adjust our core view of life in such a way that it lines up with God’s view and God’s purposes in life. At the heart of this issue is trust in God; is our trust in Him dependent upon circumstances, or is it set as concrete in the deepest part of our being? Job gave a perfect example of trust in God when he said “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him:” Job 13:15. In addition to trust, we must deal honestly with the scriptures; nowhere are we promised a life free of trouble, but on the contrary, we are told that there will be trials in this life. 1 Peter 4:12. We are not to live expecting the worse, with a doomsday attitude, but are to live knowing that difficulties will come our way. God could put an end to all trials, but He has chosen not to do so-not because He does not care or that He wants to see us suffer, but because He is up to something big. Even though we do not like troubles, God is using the tough times for a greater purpose. His over-riding purpose is to continue the process of transforming us into His image and getting us to a place that we are overcomers in life. Jesus is all about overcoming darkness with light, about setting the prisoner free, about breaking the chains that bind, about giving sight to the blind-and we have been given the same ministry. Jesus was born into a fallen world, and even though God in His own timing will fully redeem even the world, we still live in a fallen world replete with problems and trials, but at the same time, we have been personally redeemed and made overcomers. You might say that our first priority as a believer, is that of discovering that God has made us overcomers-and to be an overcomer, we must have things to overcome-thus the trials and difficulties. We can represent God; we can bring His peace, His grace, His light, and His comfort in the midst of the greatest trials-whether it’s a personal trial or a trial that someone else is experiencing. There is more to be said on this in the next blog, but for now, settle in your heart that God has made you an overcomer, and that He is always good-even when we do not fully understand.
Romans 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Blessings,
Buddy
James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”
John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
My father worked for the railroad and one of the main priorities for the railroad was to avoid derailment of the train; we do well if it is our priority to avoid spiritual derailment. Many believers who once had a passion for God have lost that passion and are now sitting on the side-line of life, content to be spectators. One major reason for this is that discouragement and disappointment sets in because of unmet expectations-things did not turn out the way they expected or hoped for. There has been a false and unbiblical message put forth that promotes the idea that if you except Jesus as Savior, everything will be well, or if you have enough faith, everything will be fine. This view of the Christian life sets us up for disappointment and discouragement. What is our response when we pray for someone who is sick and they are not healed-or when we lose our job-or when our house is destroyed by fire-or when our child is born with less than perfect health-or when a friend is killed in a car accident? Can we and do we say in those times that God is good, that He is a God of Love? Let’s face it-life can be and will be tough! As believers, we need to develop strong spiritual backbones. In order to honestly confess that God is good in the midst of a trial, we may need to adjust our core view of life in such a way that it lines up with God’s view and God’s purposes in life. At the heart of this issue is trust in God; is our trust in Him dependent upon circumstances, or is it set as concrete in the deepest part of our being? Job gave a perfect example of trust in God when he said “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him:” Job 13:15. In addition to trust, we must deal honestly with the scriptures; nowhere are we promised a life free of trouble, but on the contrary, we are told that there will be trials in this life. 1 Peter 4:12. We are not to live expecting the worse, with a doomsday attitude, but are to live knowing that difficulties will come our way. God could put an end to all trials, but He has chosen not to do so-not because He does not care or that He wants to see us suffer, but because He is up to something big. Even though we do not like troubles, God is using the tough times for a greater purpose. His over-riding purpose is to continue the process of transforming us into His image and getting us to a place that we are overcomers in life. Jesus is all about overcoming darkness with light, about setting the prisoner free, about breaking the chains that bind, about giving sight to the blind-and we have been given the same ministry. Jesus was born into a fallen world, and even though God in His own timing will fully redeem even the world, we still live in a fallen world replete with problems and trials, but at the same time, we have been personally redeemed and made overcomers. You might say that our first priority as a believer, is that of discovering that God has made us overcomers-and to be an overcomer, we must have things to overcome-thus the trials and difficulties. We can represent God; we can bring His peace, His grace, His light, and His comfort in the midst of the greatest trials-whether it’s a personal trial or a trial that someone else is experiencing. There is more to be said on this in the next blog, but for now, settle in your heart that God has made you an overcomer, and that He is always good-even when we do not fully understand.
Romans 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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