Our earthly affections fluctuate, sometimes daily, going from hot and zealous to lukewarm or even cold as our emotions change. Like the disciples, we can be ready to die for Jesus one day and then be ready to forsake him and run the next. We can tell the Lord we trust him to supply all our needs and yet entertain doubt and fear when our circumstances change.
Many Christians talk about intimacy with the Lord, about walking with him, knowing him, having fellowship with him. But we cannot have true communion with God unless we receive into our hearts the full revelation of his love, grace and mercy.
Communion with God consists of two things: receiving the love of the Father and loving him in return. Being secure in his love is the first step. You can spend hours each day in prayer telling the Lord how much you love him, but if you have not received his love, you have not had communion with him.
Only one thing can keep us going in the coming hard times and that is an understanding of God’s glory. By grasping it, we unlock the door to an overcoming life!
The glory of God is a revelation of our Lord’s nature and being. In the Old Testament, Moses had a literal glimpse of God’s glory. “The Lord passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’” (Exodus 34:6-7).
King David often expressed his sorrow and struggle: “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. . . . I would hasten my escape” (Psalm 55:6 and 8). At times David’s grief drove him to the point of tears and he eloquently expresses his despair.
Because we live in a fallen world, we all face days of grief and struggle. How, exactly are we to find grace to help us in our times of need? Relying on a theological definition of grace does not help us when we are in the midst of crisis. We need God’s very real help when we are hurting.
The writer of Hebrews tells us, “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Some Christians are always in crisis and seem to want to tell you all about the problems they are facing. They feel a need to describe their troubles to others, but seem reluctant to take them to Jesus, as if he has nothing to offer.
We are all creatures of habit. We usually get up at the same hour, eat the same breakfast, make the same drive to our place of work and listen to the same radio station during our commute. We face endless repetition in our daily routines. That’s just life. While it may not seem like it at times, there is real maturity and growth in being faithful and responsible day by day, week by week, year by year.
Many Christians measure their spiritual lives by the way they feel and they are convinced they are not growing spiritually. They regularly attend church, hear God’s Word preached, read their Bibles, and diligently pray. But they feel that they’re not making much progress. One saint told me, “I used to weep easily before the Lord but now I’m not as tenderhearted as I once was. I’m simply not growing.”
The apostle Paul assured the Thessalonians that they had learned how to walk pleasing before the Lord. “You received from us how you ought to walk and to please God” (1Thessalonians 4:1). Paul had begun with this exhortation: “That you should abound more and more” (same verse).
To abound means to increase. Paul was saying, “You’ve been sitting under sound gospel preaching so you have a solid foundation beneath you. Therefore, you ought to be increasing in grace in all things — in your faith, your knowledge, your love.”
God’s secret to spiritual strength is found in Isaiah 30:15: “In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”