Welcome to embolden. We're through Bible scripture and commentary. We seek a bold faith, and in doing so we share the amazing love and message of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hello, I'm Chris Shatter.
I'm an ordinary Christian seeking a deeper relationship with our extraordinary God. Won't you join me? Hi friends, are you looking for a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and that ever-elusive self-control? Please join me over the next few weeks as we take a look at the Bible's verse in Galatians 5, 22 to 23, so we can experience the Christian life in full bloom.
I met Jill, which is not her real name, by the way, when I volunteered to be part of a new discipleship program at my church. I was to guide her through a program which helps newer or younger believers understand their faith in God and Jesus. At our first meeting, she described her life situation as fairly dire. You see, after becoming pregnant as a teenager, much of her family seemed to disown her.
And if not for her Godparents, she would have found herself destitute. Fortunately, at this point, when I saw her, she and her mother had eventually came to a place in a relationship where she and her son could temporarily live in her mother's house. And as I listened, I discovered a few interesting things. First, her professed Christian grandfather had a lot to learn about love.
At every turn, he made her and her son feel outside the love of God because of her sin. And second, I realized having asked her what she believed. I realized her faith was based on what others believed. She could not answer what she honestly believed.
And lastly, I witnessed how easily it is for us to focus on the terrible things in our life and push God to the outskirts. James 1, 5-6 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. I've referenced the book of James before because it really is a no-nonsense look at life's reality.
We will experience trials and temptations. We shouldn't be surprised by that. Sure, we are maybe stunned at what the trials is or the level of its awfulness. But we live in a broken world full of sin and sinful people.
And the key to all of this is first seeking God's wisdom in a trial, turning to Him before all else, and secondly, to have faith without doubting that He will find a way. That path He works through you might have a few more bumps and bruises in store. But with our eyes firmly fixed on Him, we will also see the blessings before us. When we feel we can't or don't know what to pray, we ask the Holy Spirit for help.
Help me stay faithful. Help me to know what to pray. So why did I bring up Jill? Well, over the next few months, I tried encouraging her to ask God in prayer for direction, both about a job and her housing.
I pointed out the blessings in the midst of her trial. I urged her to seek the work God was doing in her life. And what I got back from her was the opposite. I'm sure we've all been in relationships like this, or maybe we've been the one like this.
That each turn of blessing she received was still not good enough. There was always something else wrong. She told me she was getting nothing from God, and yet she had a place to live, food to eat, a school for her son, a church that was helping her and someone to talk to me. How many of us, when we are in the inevitable troughs of life, troughs that feel lacking in joy and love, create an equally deep trough of faith?
If asked that question a couple of years ago, I would have raised my hand in agreement. God's not there. God's not listening. God doesn't care about me.
God doesn't see me. And sometimes leading to my cry, I don't believe in you anymore. But friend, God never ever leaves. He never stops listening and responding.
He never stops loving. But we do. And it's time to start a new practice. I used to tell the girls I coached in softball.
If you keep practicing something the wrong way, you will get very, very good at doing it the wrong way. So yes, it's time to look in the mirror and tell yourself a new approach is needed. A new way of practicing your faith. The second life takes a twist.
We must drop to our knees in faith. We become people with buckets overflowing with faithfulness rather than fruitlessness. Because let's be honest, the old way really wasn't working in that great in the first place, right? Matthew 810 says, when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel, I have found such faith.
Who's he talking about? And do you want to be recognized by Jesus like this? Like the Roman centurion who pled with Jesus to heal his servant? He told Jesus he had faith that Jesus didn't even need to come to his house in order to perform the miracle.
He told Jesus, just say it, and it will be done. That's some amazing faith for a man who shouldn't have had anything to do with this Jew. I love this quote by Charles Spurgeon about a relationship with the Almighty during difficult times. When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.
When it comes right down to it, you have to start asking yourself, do I trust God? Do I have real faith that he is faithful? Not just in the good, but in the bad. You are facing, say homelessness, financial ruin, the death of a loved one, sickness, pain, betrayal and more.
Are you finally, finally ready to say to him? You give every good and beautiful thing, and I know you will work this out for my good. It's time for a perspective shift in our faith lives, friends. Seek the blessings.
Search them out more earnestly than we do, trying to find the worst in any situation. You'll find it's not that difficult after a while. That's the fruit of faithfulness. That's loving a God who loves you deeply.
I've read mystery and detective books my whole life starting with Nancy Drew, and recently I decided to use any free time to read various theological books. I'm currently in the midst of the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. For those not in the know about this book, it's Letters from a, quote, head demon advising a lower demon on how to best ensure his assigned patient goes to hell.
I was writing this post on faithfulness and came across this passage. In a week or two, you will be making him doubt whether or not the first days of his Christianity were not perhaps a little excessive. Talk to him about moderation and all things. If you can once skin him to the point thinking that religion is all very well up to a point, you can feel quite happy about his soul.
A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all and more if I'm using. Your affectionate uncle, uncle, Screwtape. Think on that spiritual battle in your next trough. Will you allow it to pull you further down?
Or will you fight back in faithfulness? I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Embolden Podcast. Be sure to follow along so you don't miss any episode. Check out my blog at embolden.net.