He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, some of the words to a song by the title of this HEART TALK, will set the stage for what I wish to share with you from my heart. Please listen to my heart.
These are trying times. However, this is not the first time we have had to face such trials of our faith. This is not the first time that God’s children have had to “dig in” and depend on God to be our Jehovah Jireh – “God will provide!” This is not the first time that we have been up against a mountain that seems impossible to climb and/or to move. We stand trembling in fear, facing a situation that we can see no way out of. I want to tell you that it is in times like these that we get to see God at His best, our Heavenly Father coming to our rescue. It is in the valley that we come to appreciate every other time that God has provided the grace and wisdom to stand firm and not panic. In panic, we do crazy and unwise things, we made unwise decisions, we speak words of doubt instead of words of faith. Hear the word of the Lord:
“Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that
seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the holed of the pit whence ye are digged…fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be
ye afraid of their revilings.” (Isaiah 51:1, 7b KJV)
WHAT IS GRACE? There are certainly more than one definition, the most often used, “God’s unmerited favor.” I heard another definition recently, one that I really like. It was said, referring to the Greek meaning of the word, that “Grace is DIVINE INFLUENCE,” that is, Almighty God’s influence in our life and in the affairs of our life. Sadly, because we cannot see God, we forget that He is fully aware of all that is happening, even those things that affect each and every one of His children. Too often, we tend to take things into our own hands, or else we throw up our hands in despair and give up on God. It is sad that many, when caught in one of life’s terrible storms, forget that Christ is asleep in the hinder part of the boat. It is not possible that the boat could sink with Jesus in it. We forget to our own hurt, and by forgetting we must row harder against the storm, continuing to bail water, but to no avail. How much better it is when we awake the Master and give Him the opportunity to exercise divine influence by quieting the storm we are in. More often than not, we are nearer the shore than we realize because we are blinded by the wind, rain and darkness of the storm. Clearly what is needed in our trying times is divine influence…divine intervention. And it is available.
SOME THINGS NEED MORE FAITH
The Bible speaks of three kinds (degrees) of faith: NO FAITH…LITTLE FAITH…GREAT FAITH. A young man (teenager) wrote to me, telling me that he didn’t believe in prayers because prayers are never answered. This is your “No Faith” mentality. LITTLE FAITH is probably where most Christians are. Faith for a headache but no faith for a real miracle. Faith enough to get by as long as nobody rocks the boat or nothing really serious develops. There WILL eventually come in every person’s life the time and situation that will require GREAT FAITH…faith with bulldog in it…faith that cannot be shaken or moved…FAITH THAT KNOWS THAT IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL GOD INTERVENES AND THE VICTORY COMES. Some things just require “more” faith.
MORE FAITH REQUIRES MORE PRAYER
People that do not pray will not stay. When tough times come they will not, because their prayer life has not been adequate enough to keep the battery of faith fully charged, will “knuckle under”. They will not have the power, or the willpower, to stand up to the challenge. PRAYER FEEDS FAITH! PRAYER BUILDS FAITH! And, FAITH EMPOWERS THE CHRISTIAN TO DEAL WITH ANY AND ALL CHALLENGES TO OUR FAITH. This includes the challenges that come because of an economy that is in serious trouble. This includes situations that arise, without warning, in families. And, we all know that family situations can become ugly, painful, and divisive. What should we do? When it becomes apparent that our faith level isn’t sufficient to deal with the challenge, we fall on our face and implore our Heavenly Father to manifest His divine influence…grace into our life, empowering us to get up from the place of prayer with confidence, with the desire to fight the good fight of faith, having received the wisdom of God to know what to do.
SOMETIMES SOMETHING MORE IS REQUIRED
Sometimes more faith and more prayer must be followed with a time of FASTING as the Holy Spirit leads. Giving up should never be an option for the child of God. We all struggle! We all wrestle with “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” We all have to deal with the Adamic nature. We all have to go into battle with the enemy of our souls. Sometimes the battle rages, hot and furious, and we must take the battle to the extreme level…FASTING, fasting for as long as the Spirit leads, until the Divine Influence – Grace, grace, God’s grace – has triumphed.
WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY?
The answer is really very simple – HUMANS SIMPLY ARE NOT CAPABLE OF HANDLING LIFE’S TRIALS ON THEIR OWN, and NEITHER IS ANY CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FORGIVENESS OF SINS FOR THEMSELVES. A fallen human race needs divine influence. We MUST have God! Why? Because He is our Creator! He, through faith in His Son, is the “Sin Forgiver.” We’re just not smart enough to keep things in divine order on our own. WE NEED JESUS! WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS IS JESUS!
Every person that has ever tried to go it alone, behaving as if they are God and don’t need divine influence, have created the mess that we’re in today, the mess that caused God to send His only begotten Son into this world to die as the “Sinless Lamb of God,” the One – the only One – that could provide reconciliation between sinful man and sinless God.
We need HIM! And, there is nothing wrong with being dependent on God as we go down life’s pathway. Christians are weak, the unbeliever says! Not so! Religion is a crutch, the unbeliever says! Not so! And besides, what is wrong with a crutch when one needs it? The sinner’s crutch is alcohol, drugs, pornography, the filth of Hollywood, gambling (and many more). Christians have “just One crutch” – HIS NAME IS JESUS! And, this is why GRACE – DIVINE INFLUENCE – IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound;
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now I’m found;
Was blind but now I see.
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