The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
God’s Presence
“Behold I am with you always even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).
It is comforting to know that God is present with us always. He has promised never to “leave nor forsake” us (Heb. 13:5). In John 10:27-29, Jesus assures us that “my sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” The “no man” of these verses, stated twice, includes ourselves, each one of us. Not even you or I can remove ourselves from God’s hand. According to these verses we are eternally secure in salvation once we, by faith, accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.
This does not mean we will never have hardships or sufferings in our lives. Testing in the form of difficulties come from both God and Satan. God tests us, like the Father and Teacher that He is, towards spiritual maturity. Hebrews 12:11 says, “no [discipline] for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who are exercised by it.”
Satan is also on hand during our crises, with the goal of exploiting our weaknesses for his own ends and finding ways to destroy our witness for God. His strategies aim toward self-absorption, self-centeredness, and self-pity in his victims in order to effectively render us useless for God’s Kingdom. And God is there with us, as He promised, carrying us through the pain.
We choose whether to bow to the pressure of the enemy of our souls or to, by faith, believe God’s promised presence and take joy in learning the lessons God prepared for the test. Don’t let the devil deceive you into thinking you don’t have any other choice but to despair when the bottom falls out of your life. God is with you and His will is that you persevere in holiness. In other words, “…let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us; looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).
Choose faith in God’s promised presence. Stand firm in the knowledge that God will never leave you.
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Update and Prayer Request: Thank you for praying for us. We are both finally over our colds. Dan’s had infusion #6 yesterday. Besides the severe lower back pain he experiences for ten minutes during each infusion, the only side effect he is experiencing is a small rash on his right leg. Please continue to pray for complete healing and that we will not overlook opportunities to share with others the “hope that is in [us]” (1 Pet. 3:15).
