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Spiritual Refreshment in Times of Trial: Is God Faithful even if I am Not?

The amazing thing about God's love is that He is always waiting with open arms for us to come to Him. Whether we are returning to Him after walking away, or coming to Him for the first time – all we need to do is have a repentant heart and He is faithful to receive us.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will draw you to the goodness of God so that your spirit may be refreshed. It is not enough to believe in God – meaning we believe He exists – but we need to believe God and take Him at His word.

As you read the following passages of Scripture, receive them as if God were speaking to you and you alone – because He is.

"For all the promises of God in Him [Jesus] are yes, and in Him amen, to the glory of God through us." 2 Corinthians 1:20

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promises is Faithful." Hebrews 10:23

 So what are some of the promises God gives to those who have trusted in Christ for salvation and have become His children? 

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 42:10

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;" Isaiah 43:2-3a

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Honestly, this promise from Jesus found in John 16:33 – the part about tribulation – does not exactly refresh my soul.  However, the promise that I can find peace in Jesus during tribulation brings great joy to my heart.

When we choose to believe the promises of God, we will have the strength to endure all the broken promises of the world. I suppose our first mistake is trusting in the promises of our government or our jobs, or even the promise from the sales representative that tells us how happy we will be if we buy the latest – whatever.

If we set our hearts and minds on heavenly things – Knowing and loving God by studying His word, and loving people, He promises to walk with us through our trials – or carry us when we can no longer stand. The problem is that we sometimes get caught up in what society tells us we need and we begin to live far and above our means. Then when trouble hits, we are devastated.  I have been guilty of this at different times in my walk with God.

The economy has hit my family hard and our lifestyle has changed dramatically – for the better – in terms of simplicity.  One example is, we once thought we couldn't live without that "emergency" credit card. The one everyone told us we needed to have.  We have not had a credit card in over 2 years, and God has never failed to provide. As a result, our faith and joy has increased while our earthly possessions have decreased.

When was the last time you read your Bible? God's promise of peace and help are waiting to be put to use. Reach out and take hold of them today.  Be of good cheer – Jesus has overcome the world. Believe it. Act on it, and be blessed.

"You have turned my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Psalm 30:11-12

© Teresa Ortiz
 

» left by kathy somers walsh from canada (4 years 47 days ago.)

what does it mean if we deny god he will deny us? I love your article Teresa

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» left by Teresa^(1,351) (4 years 47 days ago.)

Hi Kathy, thank you for reading.  This is a good question.  To answer it, I will take you to Matthew chapter 10. In context, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and he is telling them to go to the lost sheep of Israel (the Jews who still have not received Jesus as the Messiah)  and preach the gospel to them.  He warns them of the persecution they will receive because of it.  He tells them to share the message and those who do not listen, they are to move on -- do not stay and force the message. But to those who receive, stick around and share even more.    Then he goes on to tell them that they should be more concerned with what god thinks and not man.  He says this:

" And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell....( Matt 10:28)  then he goes on to say, " Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is heaven. (Matt 10:32-33)

Remember in context, he is talking about salvation, so he is talking about those who reject the fact that Jesus is the Messiah and feel they do not need him as a means of going to heaven.  It is the constant rejection of the call of God on our life for salvation.  In effect, they are denying they are sinners.

How this relates to God remaining faithful is that salvation is still offered and paid for by Jesus even for the one who rejected it.  He cannot deny his own work, but what it means is the one who rejected christ's call on their life chose to reject the gift.

As a Christian there are times when we deny what God is doing in our lives.  This is different. This is called quenching the spirit, it does not mean we lose our salvation. What it does mean is that we lose our peace because we have chosen to close the door of our heart to our Savior.

The great news is that no matter how many times a person rejects Jesus, there is always opportunity to repent as long as they are alive.  The problem is we never know when we will breathe our last. So if we die in a state of denying Jesus, then we have sealed our fate, and the faithfulness of God must be true to his character and this person will be eternally separated from God because they died without the forgiveness of sins.

I hope this helps.  Feel free to ask again if I didn't quite answer the question or if I raised more :-)

Lord bless you! Keep growing!  Teresa

(Attention other readers, feel free to jump in anytime :-) )

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» left by kathy somers walsh from canada (4 years 46 days ago.)

WHEW............... scared me there....... :)

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» left by Anonymous (4 years 47 days ago.)

Great encouraging writing! I needed to hear that more than you know. God bless

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» left by Teresa^(1,351) (4 years 47 days ago.)

Hi Anon.  I am so glad you took a moment to read and comment. I am encouraged. Don't lose heart. Read the word of God, learn more and more of him and you will fall more and more in love with Him. 

Life gets tough sometimes, but God will be faithful.  Don't turn away.  God bless you abundantly. 

In Christ, Teresa

 

 

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» left by Brian Farrell⁽¹⁷⁸⁾ (4 years 47 days ago.)

Thank you, Teresa. Oh the peace and joy to be found in the Word of God! Thank you for your ministry and words of encouragement and exhortation.

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» left by Teresa^(1,351) (4 years 46 days ago.)

Hi Brian,  Thank you for the encouraging comment.  It's all about lifting one another up.  Lord bless your day!  Teresa

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» left by Michele LaPointe (4 years 6 days ago.)

Every one of these Scripture references is posted somewhere in my house presently!

 

Wonderful post!

 

Michele

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» left by Anonymous (4 years 1 day ago.)

Thank you Michelle! God is good, isn't he?!

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» left by Marijo Phelps from mountain meadow in CO (3 years 271 days ago.)

Great encouragement and much needed as we seem some days to go from putting out one fire to the next....Marijo

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» left by Anonymous (3 years 271 days ago.)

Hi marijo, its wonderful that everything we need to experience the peace of God is found right in His word. Blessings to you! Teresa

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