THESE THREE THINGS

Someone of importance once said that to be an ardent follower of Christ one’s life must have three necessary things in evidence….prayer, consecration and temptation. Prayer is necessary for constant communication with the Father, consecration is at the root of a submissive will and temptation is there to assure that the Father can be trusted. In other words, you will never know the reality of your faith until you have been in the “trenches of life.” Unless you experience the difficulties of life, you will not know the depth of God’s love and faithfulness nor will you know at what point you will succumb to life’s many temptations….thus, life’s difficulties are there to make you stronger.

Take Peter, for example …in his mind, his faith in Christ was rock solid ( thus the name Petros); yet, in Mark 14 when Christ tells him that he will deny him three times before the cock crows twice, he adamantly retorts, “ Even though they all fall away, I WIIL NOT! Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” But before Christ was whisked away into the dark, Peter had given in to his fears and had denied with a curse that he ever knew the man. This great apostle with whom Christ had shared so much broke down and wept. The temptation had been too great and he had failed his Lord.

The same can be said for each of us. We want to serve our Lord …to stand fearless in the throes of adversity and to emerge victorious. But far too often, the circumstances that God allows to entangle us, they trip us up and cause us to fall flat on our faces. Yet, He still loves us and offers us other opportunities to stand firm and be counted on His side. Each trial is sent to show us His faithfulness and our weakness …each outcome, each battle, each new day is ours to become all that He wants us to be.

So, take heart, good friend….although Peter failed, when Christ saw him again, he asked him, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” Peter’s response, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” So, Christ asked him two more times and with each response, He commanded Peter to feed his sheep….and Peter became a great man of God and a GREAT MAN FOR GOD.

Today, pray to your Father that he will direct your path, consecrate your work and keep temptation far away…or if not, that through His power, VICTORY WILL BE YOURS!

BLESSED AND BELIEVING,
WPQ