Consider it great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete and lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 HCSB
Yesterday, we talked about being planted in good soil. This is how we grow. Growth is very important for a Christian. We grow through our various trials and tribulations. We grow in faith by learning to trust God no matter what we face.
We’ve been talking about the difficulties we must overcome in order to be a Christian. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life and few find it.”
If you are going to be one of the few, you have to learn to trust in Him. We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. Your faith must be stronger than your fear in order for you to face various trials with great joy. You have to understand that God fights your battles. You have to put your faith in Him.
We cannot grow as Christians without faith. We talked yesterday about a superficial Christianity. Many believe they are saved because they make a public profession of faith or get baptized, but we have to look at what this produces in our lives. If you got baptized because of an emotional desire or experience and never really committed, you need to understand that you were not truly saved. Our pastor points out that a good way to determine this is by asking, “What were you saved from?” Take a good, long look at what has changed since you were saved. Are you a new creation in Christ?
Is your desire to please God stronger than your desire to sin or to please man? Do you trust in Him when the going gets tough or do you rely on your old sinful way of handling things? It is God’s will for us to trust in Him. It is His will for us to put Him first. Jesus went on to say in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Baptism isn’t going to get you to heaven. Being a “good person” isn’t going to get you into heaven. Doing God’s will is what will get you into heaven. When we are truly saved, we strive to do our best to please Him and do His will.
And only when we are truly saved, can we be joyous over our trials and tribulations knowing they are helping us to grow. I’m not saying you have to throw a party every time something goes wrong. I’m saying you get through it without grumbling and complaining to God. You get through it with faith. You trust in His word which says if you love Him and are doing what He has called you to do, He will work it all out for your good.
It’s hard to have faith when things don’t go our way. It takes practice. We practice faith by trusting in Him even when the situation seems impossible. We have faith by studying His word and calling on Scripture. Like the one that says, “…with God all things are possible” found in Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:37, and Mark 10:27.
If you are going to be a Christian, you are going to have to have faith stronger than your fear. This is needed to grow into mature Christianity. This is why being planted in good soil and church attendance are so important. They help to develop good Bible study habits as well as an active prayer life and they help you to grow in your faith.
Have a great day!