Father-Filtered Faith

There isn't one person who doesn't go through their life, without some degree of difficulty. Perhaps it's a health issue, a financial issue, a job loss, the loss of a family member, at the proverbial end of our rope. I can't imagine how people who don't have faith in Jesus make it, when the difficulties come. They either turn to alcohol or drugs to medicate so they can temporarily forget their issues, but it is still waiting for them when they finish the effects of their drugs or alcohol use.

Some fall into deep despair and others try to take their own lives or even the lives of others as things spiral so out of control, they loss all sense of rational thought. Their emotions begin to flood them with all kinds of thoughts, that they simply can't handle them all at once. It becomes beyond overwhelming.

But to the believer in Jesus Christ, it is different for us. Those same circumstances will come, but we don't lose control like they do. When we have Jesus in our life, we will have peace. In the moment of difficulty, our faith is put to the ultimate test. Just reading the Bible to people who are troubled, or are in pain, can be such a healing balm, that their pain seems to subside, and peace comes upon them. If you stop reading it, they will often tell you to keep reading it. It can't be explained why that happens, but it does.

It is much easier to be a believer now, than to wait for more difficult times to come. Trust me, you don't want to wait until after the Rapture of the church to become a believer in Jesus Christ. Escape that moment that will come to those who waited. We have such promises from God that when difficulties in this life come, God will not leave us. We have hope in Jesus.

John 11:25 (NIV) ~ " Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 6:40 (NIV) ~ "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Matthew 28:20b (NIV) ~ "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV) ~ "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

We can be confident living in difficult and troubling times.

John 6:51 (NIV) ~ "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

2 Corinthians 5:7-8 (NIV) ~ "We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

John 14:1-2 (NIV) ~ "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."

How would you fare if your faith is called into account?

As believers we have the blessed assurance that God will help us endure it right to the end. Tribulations or trials in this life can feel like being crushed or being under immense pressure. But we need to rejoice because it is all Father-filtered!!! Nothing that happens in the life of a believer does so without God being 100% aware of it.

Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV) ~ "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

God at times, specifically engineers difficulties in our life. He tailor makes them so that the Word that we have been hearing gets knocked down from our heads into our hearts. We can know this, if God created it, He knows we will get through it with victory.

We will prosper based on what we are going through. It may not be money, if you are dealing with health issues, you'd be thrilled to get well. While someone who is struggling in their marriage would rather have restoration and reconciliation over money. Don't be fooled, money is never the answer to what is ailing us. God is.

Matthew 16:26 (NIV) ~ "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

We should be taking a different look at our trials and realize if we are believers in Jesus, God knows what we are going through, we will be victorious when we get to the end, because this difficulty has been "God-filtered." It will make us stronger in our faith, stronger to persevere in our next trial and we continue to grow ever closer to that day when Christ will complete that work in us and call us home. Let us rejoice through our trials!