Read this if you feel that God's promises are failing you.
How is the ‘gospel’ going with you? Still fired-up about His blessings and salvation and victory? I sound cynical. I am not (well at least not now). Hear me out. I’m all with that… the blessings, the salvation, the victory, the purpose-driven life and the love of God and His Spirit and discipleship and fellowship and on and on I could go.
But what happens when it all gets shaken? You’re thinking beach vacation to the Bahamas. God’s thinking long, dry, thirsty trek through death valley. I’m not sure why God would want that; no, in fact I’m pretty sure if you’re in that valley it’s not Him really doing that chipping away with a hammer of decay at all that’s important to you.
I’m there right now. And it hasn’t been just a day. It’s been endless days, weeks, months, seasons. The finger of corruption has dared touched me and I am revolted, repulsed and furious. How dare anything attempt to take away my inheritance in Christ! But when the initial resistance you put up fades and all you hear are the thuds of the hammer of decay chipping away… you anger gets all confused. Me, you, Him, it… like a high-pressure water hose, it flails everywhere. Sheer anger doesn’t know who to blame so it blames all.
And my eyes faint to see just any sign of victory. The defeat of my enemies, the lifting of my head. David faced this stuff. He spoke of His anger and dismay, disappointment in God and a sense of abandonment. He did that so beautifully but that little boy shepherd of Bethlehem who became a king of a little rag-tag confederation of tribes, wasn’t out to enthrall with his poetry. He was pouring out his heart – raw and untamed – writings that God saw fit to keep into perpetuity so that all His children would know… “With Me, be real.”
In all this, what amazes me is the prosperity in the midst of what feels like something turning into a complete tail-between-the-legs defeat and retreat… “not a single hair of your head shall perish.” And it hasn’t. I’ve been scorched, but not burned. Struck down, but somehow I stand. Pierced, but not fatally wounded. Smashed but I’m still sound. “Not a hair” has moved.
But my faith in the things I wrote about above… well it’s in tatters, shattered like a glass into a million sharp pieces… don’t even dare pick them up. And in the midst of the bitterness of my disappointment and doubt, I see something unshakeable and precious as nothing else… oh how tiny and so ridiculously small that it’s kinda cute… but it’s there! It’s my faith. And that long, dry trek… it’s showed me the size of my faith, so small, true… but ever so precious and strong, like a diamond.
I tried to shake away that little faith. Yeah, I did really… cursing God and threatening Him with complete doubt in His existence. I’m the first person who didn’t even buy my own bluff. It was a way to vent my anger. I can’t shake that faith even if I try. Because that’s the God-given faith of a son of God. It’s a no-fluff, raw & untamed, so much shorter than Goliath, but with the strength of 100 Goliaths kind of faith.
All I’m trying to say is that if you’re walking through the valley of the shadow of death and God’s promises that you were so happy about moments or years ago are something that makes you cringe in sadness or anger, here’s one good thing about all this ordeal… you get to see your real faith. You get vindicated by the revealing of your faith.
I do believe. I just didn’t know which things I believed in were real and which ones were just show. But now I do. I believe in Him… Jesus and His love. And I now know they’re the realest thing that can ever be.
Sign up below to stay tuned for more posts and watch out for my Free eBook soon - And These Signs Shall Follow You!  |
| Photo by Stefan Kunze |
I’m there right now. And it hasn’t been just a day. It’s been endless days, weeks, months, seasons. The finger of corruption has dared touched me and I am revolted, repulsed and furious. How dare anything attempt to take away my inheritance in Christ! But when the initial resistance you put up fades and all you hear are the thuds of the hammer of decay chipping away… you anger gets all confused. Me, you, Him, it… like a high-pressure water hose, it flails everywhere. Sheer anger doesn’t know who to blame so it blames all.
And my eyes faint to see just any sign of victory. The defeat of my enemies, the lifting of my head. David faced this stuff. He spoke of His anger and dismay, disappointment in God and a sense of abandonment. He did that so beautifully but that little boy shepherd of Bethlehem who became a king of a little rag-tag confederation of tribes, wasn’t out to enthrall with his poetry. He was pouring out his heart – raw and untamed – writings that God saw fit to keep into perpetuity so that all His children would know… “With Me, be real.”
In all this, what amazes me is the prosperity in the midst of what feels like something turning into a complete tail-between-the-legs defeat and retreat… “not a single hair of your head shall perish.” And it hasn’t. I’ve been scorched, but not burned. Struck down, but somehow I stand. Pierced, but not fatally wounded. Smashed but I’m still sound. “Not a hair” has moved.
But my faith in the things I wrote about above… well it’s in tatters, shattered like a glass into a million sharp pieces… don’t even dare pick them up. And in the midst of the bitterness of my disappointment and doubt, I see something unshakeable and precious as nothing else… oh how tiny and so ridiculously small that it’s kinda cute… but it’s there! It’s my faith. And that long, dry trek… it’s showed me the size of my faith, so small, true… but ever so precious and strong, like a diamond.
I tried to shake away that little faith. Yeah, I did really… cursing God and threatening Him with complete doubt in His existence. I’m the first person who didn’t even buy my own bluff. It was a way to vent my anger. I can’t shake that faith even if I try. Because that’s the God-given faith of a son of God. It’s a no-fluff, raw & untamed, so much shorter than Goliath, but with the strength of 100 Goliaths kind of faith.
All I’m trying to say is that if you’re walking through the valley of the shadow of death and God’s promises that you were so happy about moments or years ago are something that makes you cringe in sadness or anger, here’s one good thing about all this ordeal… you get to see your real faith. You get vindicated by the revealing of your faith.
I do believe. I just didn’t know which things I believed in were real and which ones were just show. But now I do. I believe in Him… Jesus and His love. And I now know they’re the realest thing that can ever be.
David Roiel
The Green Leaf Blog-Discover your inheritance!
Comments
Post a Comment