If belief in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, brings peace to our troubled hearts, then what kind of life can we expect if we abandon faith?
Has there ever been a time in your life when the doubts became so strong that you felt there was a chance that you could fall away from faith? I had a very brief span of time one summer probably ten or twelve years ago when I believe I was in a time of real oppression by Satan. It seems I was being confronted on many sides by people of non-belief who seemed very comfortable in their theological (or lack thereof) viewpoints and made some fairly good arguments for their stance. Along with that, I was not arming myself adequately to counter these attacks and for a period of a few days, I felt the weight of the "what ifs...."
"What if what I have believed all my life isn't true?"
"What if this earth was formed by a gaseous explosion and everything else evolved over the next kajillion million years?"
"What if there is no higher purpose?"
The effect of even the consideration of non-belief for me was hopelessness. I saw no hope, and no reason for this life. I saw no joy, because there would be no real purpose. If everything we do and do for others is of no eternal significance, then it really is of very little significance at all. I found that that was not the life I would want to embrace and I quickly found myself pulling out my Bible and burying myself in it until all of the promises it contains became life to me again. I praised God that my gift of faith was still intact and that I could know that His truth is the truth that I can rely on forever.
I believe my time of doubt is well behind me and I hope to never experience such a time again, but I am almost glad that I did experience that time. Since I came to knowledge of Jesus as my Savior at a very early age, there's really never been a time in my life that I didn't believe, and I think God knew that I needed to have a taste of the emptiness that a life void of faith in Him would feel like. If that same time would occur to me now, or if it should come to you, it would be a good time to recite The Four Corners of the Bible over and over in your head to combat the enemy, the planter of doubt.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Believe in God - believe in Jesus Christ - let not your heart be troubled! Believe!
1 comment:
I have always believed in Christ. I remember when I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. I was a young girl and was attending a summer Baptist church camp at Glorieta, NM, but I have not always had a close relationship. I would go to church each Sunday, but I didn't talk with Him and ask Him to lead my life each day. I would pray for strength during my troubled years of single parenting, but I haven't studied God and His Word on a daily basis. As I grow older and realize the importance of daily communication with God, I have felt God's presence in my life. I feel he leads me and talks to me in His majestic way. Jesus Christ is
alive and He lives in my heart. I do believe and He comforts my troubled heart.
Post a Comment