Steadfast Faith
The distance we travel in this life is sometimes measured by our difficulties rather than by physical miles. I was recently working in Monkey Point, Nicaragua, which is 35 miles south of Bluefields. I want you to envision traveling in an open boat in a driving rainstorm for 35 miles out on the open waters of the Caribbean Sea.
As the waves were pounding our boat, I looked around at the folks in the boat with me and noticed that some were literally curled up in a ball on the bottom of the boat. Others were bent over trying to shield their faces from the rainstorm. A few of us were sitting straight up facing the storm and taking in each wave as it came. That is almost a little analogy on life, isn’t it?
How about you, dear Christian? What do you normally choose to do during the rough seas of your life? Do you have a tendency to curl up and pray the storm will pass? Do you pretend the storm doesn’t even exist, hoping it will mysteriously disappear? Or, are you a Christian with such an impenetrable faith that you plant your feet firmly on the ground, straighten your back, take a deep breath and forge ahead knowing that the Lord is on your side?
I know life can be devastating at times but let me encourage you to hold fast and weather those storms in your life. Take a moment today to read James 1:2-3 (Amplified), which instructs us on the attitude we should have in the midst of affliction:
“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.”
Do your best to resist the temptation to pray and ask God to remove the trial in your life. Instead, come before the Lord and ask Him what it is you are to learn during this difficult season. One of the most admirable traits we can learn to develop during adversity is a total dependency upon Christ.
