Many of us keep changing our relationship with God. Jesus knew this, so said to Peter in Luke 22: 31, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Satan cannot touch us without God’s permission just as God permitted Satan about Job in Job 2: 6, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” Satan targets those devoted to God
Jesus always prays for his devoted people although he sometimes allows them to go through trials knowing they will overcome. God said to Satan in Job 1: 12, everything he (Job) has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. Paul affirmed in 1 Corinthians 10: 13, no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
So, why do we fail during trials?
We lend ourselves to be deceived. 2Corinthians 11: 14 says, no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. For an antidote, God said to king Solomon in 1Kings 3: 12, I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there be. We do not pray for wisdom and a discerning spirit which can enable us to know true light from fake light.
Even with those with a discerning spirit, Proverbs 1: 5 says let the discerning get guidance. In effect, we must be guided by God who is the fountain of wisdom and knowledge. Jesus said in John 15: 5, apart from me you can do nothing. Without a sound foundation in Christ Jesus, the storms of life may overwhelm us. We are deceived because we are not well grounded in Christ Jesus and his word. The gap in knowledge and wisdom feeds doubt, anxiety, fear, frustration and failure which lead to sin. Therefore, in order to be secure and be firmly rooted in God, we must consider as follows:
We must depend on Jesus
Psalm 16: 8 says, I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand; I shall not be moved. Our focus on Christ Jesus determines the depth of our roots in God. Matthew 14: 30 says, when he (Peter) saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me.” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” When we lose focus on Jesus, calamity will befall us; when we focus on him, he will reach out to save us.
We must remain righteous
Genesis 15: 6 says, Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. We must believe and obey God by his word. Knowledge of God’s word differs from obeying it. Jesus said in Luke 11: 28, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Therefore, James 1: 22-24 says, do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. Hearing and doing the word gives us firm roots in God.
We must remain hopeful
David said in Psalm 20: 7, some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. We must not be moved by what people say. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 21, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let your treasure be God’s faithfulness to discharge what he says. Isaiah 26: 3 assures, you (God) will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Are we hopeful in Christ Jesus? Numbers 23: 19 says, God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
Always connect with Jesus
Psalm 91: 1 says, whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. God shelters those who connect with him. Philippians 2: 10 says, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledges that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. His name is not an empty authority nor his promise vain in a world of darkness for said in John 8: 12; 9: 5, “I am the light of the world. He also said in John 14: 6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. If we don’t connect with him, we shall be unstable in darkness. Therefore, Psalm 119: 105 says, your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path. Connect with Jesus now.
Always resolve to endure for Jesus
God said in 2Chronicles 15: 7, as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. We can endure with prayer as Jesus said in Luke 18: 1… always pray and not give up. Paul advised Timothy in 2Timothy 2: 12, if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us. In his own life, he said in Romans 8: 38-39, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not the future, nor any powers, neither height not depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Meditation
Those who resolve to be rooted in Christ Jesus will receive their reward. Revelation 2: 23 says, I will repay each of you according to your deeds. How determined are we to endure for Christ Jesus? How is our prayer life? On whom is our focus? Who is our friend on whom we rely in troubled times? God said in Jeremiah 33: 3, ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Be firmly rooted in Jesus without giving up. Jesus is working on your behalf which you may not know.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, open our sight to perceive you; our eyes to hear your voice; our understanding to appreciate you; and our hearts to receive you for what you are doing for us though we may not know. Help us to be stable and rooted in you when the storms of life come. Cover us in your blood and lead us by your Holy Spirit to keep our relationship with you. We pray in your holy name, Amen!!
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