“The Lord is trustworthy. Whatever His plan for you, be assured He will see you safely through.” – Charles F. Stanley
Welcome to day 1 of 3 posts I will be dedicating to Mr. Stanley.
Today I wanted to talk about running this race called life.
Depending on the day, it can feel really defeating to keep going with endurance. I’m sure a time or two you have felt the same way.
“There’s something comforting about knowing that men and women have finished their races well for centries – it gives me faith that I can too.”
Trillia Newbell
What I love about Dr. Stanley is that he always pointed us to Christ, always. If Christ wasn’t your focus, you needed to get refocused. A lot of the time I noticed when we become unfocused we loose sight of who God is. Then we fall into fears, doubts, and lies. This is a tactic of the enemy but this is also the weakness of the flesh. Which is exactly Mr. Stanley’s point. Without Christ, this race will be more exhausting than how it already feels. Below are some truth’s that he wanted us all to hear:
As you see, looking back on those who have gone before us can push us with further endurance. We can look back on Dr. Stanley, David, Noah, and more who have also anticipated God’s aid, armor, and assistance. Sometimes like David we cry out, “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? (see Psalm 13:1), but no matter what it is you are hoping for or struggling with, God will always look out for our good. Even though at times it may feel we are alone, there are people all around the world awaiting for similar blessings and also feel disheartened. Through wisdom he says it best, “In fact, throughout Scripture, there’s not a man or woman whom God used in a powerful way who didn’t first face a long and difficult time of waiting. So don’t despair… take it as the Father’s special favor and guidance in your life.”
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” (Isaiah 64:4, KJV)
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
There are so many challenges these days. I often feel alone in my faith with God and it truly saddens me. If you have people around you to love God with despite the world’s circumstances be thankful.
Faith is believing the unseen. Faith is standing on God’s word regardless of the right now, because God tells the truth. He cannot nor will not lie (Numbers 23:19). The “right now” is this world and this world is not forever. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35/Mark 13:31).
According to His promise, we are awaiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13/Revelation 21:1). We often forget this very thing … God created all things.
“and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17)
Time, space, gravity, earth, and so on. He created. He is outside of the things that limit us. *Limits us* not Him. For He even created life itself. If it weren’t for Him and Him alone, we would simply not exist.
“How completely satisfying to turn from our own limitations to a God who has none.”
-A.W. Tozer
Knowing this, this Life Bearer, and meditating on this truth, is what uplifts me to continue treading on. It was Him who gave us this life. It was He who chose us from the beginning. Hand picked and hand knitted. He knew where we would be in this very moment. What we have dealt with or are dealing with are of no surprise to the Almighty.
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalms 139:13-16)
“You may not see it yet, but God has all the right pieces to make the puzzle of your life fit together.”
Sermon Quotes
God knew. He saw our future. He sees our potential. He knows where we will be one day, and it won’t be here. It will be in glory with Him. Reigning for ever and ever in His presence. With that in mind, let us not grow weary. We got this.
“A significant amount of risk is involved in trusting God in all things, relationships, choices, and decisions. Risk, after all, is part of the very nature of faith.”
It can be hard to fathom faith and what it entails.
To have faith can be defined as, complete trust or confidence in someone or something. & in our case, this some-One is God.
For some this is easy and for other this is daunting. Jesus did mention, “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14, NKJV) Meaning, there are many paths and options we are allowed to take. There are many roads that are available that seem pleasing to the eye, but they may lead to destruction.
“Not every opportunity is a good one. And with even greater certainty I can tell you, not all of them are sent by God. “
Passion & Purpose – Charles F. Stanley
Which is why following Jesus despite what it may look like in the moment is so important. We must think to ourselves, ‘will this glorify the Lord?’, ‘will this lead others to Jesus?’, ‘will this veer me away?’, ‘is this a distraction?’, and foremost ‘did I pray about this situation and wait on a response?‘.
Many hear the saying, “Faith not sight”, and miscue this for it being “blind faith”. Except, this isn’t the case at all. True Christians are not blindly following their Shepherd. In fact, they are provided with all that they need.
‘Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ‘ (Matthew 6:26, NKJV)
God’s plan for your life (yes you) is to provide you with peace, a future, and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Do you think a Father who wishes this for you would just throw you into a pack of wolves with no solution or way out? Absolutely not, that is not who God is.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Psalms 119:105, NKJV
If you have read my previous posts, you should know that we have two things that God has gifted us: His Word and Prayer. Briefly, His Word is one of the ways He speaks His truth to us. His lessons lie within the text. Everything we need to know is in the very pages of the Bible. Prayer, is a direct landline to the Father. You can call on Him when ever and where ever you need His assistance. Both are tools within this realm to help us and others for the benefit of His kingdom.
There is also something else or I should say some-One else we are gifted by believing. The Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit!
“the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17, NKJV)
1 John 5:6-12 (KJV)
This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three who testify{Only a few recent manuscripts add “in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth”}: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.
He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.
Once we believed we changed. God intervened on our behalf and did the impossible. Well, what would have been impossible for us, but for God nothing is impossible (Jeremiah 32:27). With His Holy Spirit as our helper, guide, encourager, interceder, and more (forever), we have more than we need.
Yet, it isn’t all about the gifts we have in this life, no. God even went above and beyond that.
As you just read from 1 John, we are citizens of God’s kingdom, with Him, for eternity.
Therefore, we are not blind even though we cannot see. Faith without seeing does not make us foolish for believing. It is actually the opposite. Did you know that non-belief is actually evil in the eyes of God? “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12, NKJV).
Faith in Jesus Christ may be a risk, but it is not a risk that will put us in danger or harm us. He is the way The Way, The Truth, The Life.
‘“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”’ (John 14:1-4, NKJV)
NO ONE can enter the kingdom of God without going through/believing in Jesus Christ.
Are we willing to take on the risk?
I pray that you already have, and if not, today is your day, because unfortunately, all the other paths are going to lead you where you never thought they would.
Choose life.
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35, NIV)
Love Never Fails 