Two Threats To Faith

At the end of Paul's life he wrote these words, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith...." That last phrase stuck with me as I read it the other day. Keeping the faith is something that all believers in Jesus Christ must do. It is by faith that we are saved, and by faith that we live this life of obedience to our Savior each day. We trust God in the good and bad times of life.  Both of those seasons of life however,  have their pitfalls.

In the days of adversity, we can be prone to waver, to doubt if God really is in control. We can give in to despair and discouragement, and instead of trusting Him to work things out for good, we take things into our own hands. That usually doesn't work out to well, and we end up making things worse than they need to be. That's not keeping the faith.

But the same can be said when things are going great.  We are experiencing blessings, plenty of finances, health is good, kids are doing great, job is good and rewarding, everything is good and we lack nothing. The danger here is twofold. When we see prosperity we may get paranoid and start to worry. We anticipate some trial is just around the corner, and God is blessing us so that we will have the emotional and spiritual resources to face it when it falls on us. We live waiting for the other shoe to drop. That is not keeping the faith.

Or we enjoy the blessings but forget where they come from. We may forget that these seasons of blessing and provision are from the gracious character of God, Who loves us and gives us all things richly to enjoy. We live without giving thanks to God our provider.  That is not keeping the faith either.  What do we do then?

In adversity, we turn to God in prayer, humbly trusting that ultimately we are in His good and loving care. We remember that He knows our situation, and as we take care of the things we can, we cast our burden upon Him and by faith believe He will do more than we can ask or think.

In  times of blessing, we simply remember from where our help comes. It is from the Lord Who created heaven and Earth.  We worship Him in humble gratitude for His provision and care, and determine to be wise stewards of the prosperity He has bestowed.  Yes, that includes paying our tithe!  We turn our hearts to Him in love, acknowledging His love for us.

So in whatever season of life you may be in today, good times or rough, remember that by faith you can do all things through Christ Who strengthens you.  Keep the faith. Fight the fight. Finish your course. The reward of heaven itself will be your prize as you stand before the Almighty God and hear, "Well done good and faithful servant."