Do you ever look around at what is going on – strange weather patterns, natural disasters, economic upheaval, train derailments – and ask, “Lord, is there a message in all of this You want me to get?” Well, I did. And, the Spirit of God began to share with me, “Don’t allow fear or life circumstances to derail your faith.”
Have you ever felt like you can’t find solid footing, or you just can’t get a grip on things so you can have a minute’s rest? Part of what the enemy does is manipulate us to destroy our faith. John 10:10 says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” What is he trying to steal, kill, and destroy? One thing is our faith!
In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus said to Simon Peter, :“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Jesus didn’t pray that Peter wouldn’t go through what he was going to go through. He prayed Simon Peter’s faith would not fail. In other words, no matter what he went through, Jesus prayed Peter’s faith would hold him up.
In Mark 11:22, Jesus tells the disciples to “have faith in God”. If Jesus were standing in front of us at this time in history, He would be telling us, also, to “have faith in God”.
Components to Faith
There are three components to faith: trust, confidence, and patience.
Proverbs 3:5 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” If you don’t trust God, then you won’t have any means of support. Think about leaning on a wall. You expect it to hold you up. When you go through situations and circumstances, what are you counting on to hold you up? Do you trust in other people? Do you trust in money? What about your doctor? You will find everyone and everything will fail you at some point. The ONLY One who is able to hold us up is our Heavenly Father. Don’t even trust in yourself.
Psalm 146:3 tells us to not put our trust in princes. Psalm 118:8-9 tells us, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” Proverbs 3:25-26 assures us, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.” So often we put our confidence in others. Only God will never fail. He is the One who will continue to reassure you; encourage you; continue to uplift and uphold you even in the most difficult and challenging times.
Patience
Patience. This is the one that we don’t like, because patience tells us that we have to wait. Not many people will honestly say they like waiting. In James 1:4, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” This patience that comes through faith allows us to be able to endure things. Do you ever ask God, “How much longer?!” We have to learn to wait on God. His timing is truly the perfect timing. If we know we can trust God; if we know that we can put our confidence in God, then that should lend to us waiting on Him.
James 1:2-4 says,
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
This patience that comes through faith allows us to be able to endure things. God has a set time in every situation and circumstance of our life. He is always going to show up. Always.
So, in conclusion, don’t allow fear or life circumstances to derail your faith. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and put your confidence in Him. And when you face trials, have patience and wait on God, knowing that His timing is perfect and that He will always show up. Let us be like Simon Peter, whose faith did not fail him even when he was sifted like wheat. Let us have faith in God, just as Jesus instructed his disciples, and let us count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience. With these three components of faith – trust, confidence, and patience – we can remain steadfast even in the midst of strange weather patterns, natural disasters, economic upheaval, train derailments, and any other trials that may come our way.
Read more by Dr. Newberry here.