I am driven to post this today, for reasons I do not know. But I am certain, that somewhere, this post would be of value.
Console yourself with the Scripture if you believe in God, "with our suffereings come perseverance,in perseverance, character, and character hope - and hope never fails" (Ro.5:4). God knows our hearts. He knows who among us puts faith in His Son.If you know the Son and believe in Him, your joy must be complete.
If you think you are suffering now while you walk your faith in the Lord, that is not a test but a training for you to give you perseverance, to develop you character so that your faith may be whole. While tests can be failed, trainings only calibrate.
This world offers so many things for us to experience momentary happiness. In watering holes, they have happy hours and casual sex. There is 'ecstacy' sold in tablets. There are new age techniques to change your aura, yoga to breath in 'joy', mantras, chakras and charms to bind negative energies.
There is Feng Shui to drive off bad luck, and fortune tellers that give false hopes; narcotic drugs to hallucinate and detach one self from reality, modern day witchcraft to cast spells and renew self-esteem. But can any of these really give joy?
No, this world has nothing for us, when we start to walk our life in faith. This way of life in our modern world is not something new, and we are being tempted to sin by many things int his world. It's been this way ages ago. The Scripture reads: "Surely, you know how it has been from of old, ever since man was placed on earth, that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment" (Job 20:4-5).
We are challenged in this life. There are no annointed Biblical character, prophet, disciple or saint who have never faced troubles nor committed sins. Jesus himself, suffered temptation, persecution, deserting, humiliation, pain and death, to forgive us our sins and save us from the debt of our sins.
The difference between a Christian and an unbeliever is that compared to them, we are certain that when we suffer troubles, God's hands will be there to move and save us. To us, challenges are but a training and not to test our faith but to strengthen our faith.
God knows our hearts because He implanted that faith in us. The Word inspires Jeremiah to say: "Before I knew you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart... (Jer. 1-5). There is no small or big faith.
Didn't Jesus say that even if your faith is as small as a mustrad seed you can command a tree to be uprotted and groundted to the sea (Mt. 17:20). We are set apart by the Lord for Him so that we may have life to the full; and that Hs joy may be in us and our joy may be complete (Jn. 15:11).
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