FULLY PERSUADED

How to Maintain the Gravity of Faith

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 

       One of the things that concern me when it comes to the times that we are living in is how easily folks are shaken in their faith.  I know that life can sometimes be overwhelming.  I know that there are questions we face in life that we don't always have answers to.  But the truth is not always found in knowing the "why" to every crisis.  The truth is found in how certain we are that our faith is grounded in God's Word.

        There is a gravity to faith that allows each of us to become rooted and grounded in our resolve not to be moved by adversity.  It really doesn't matter what the enemy throws our way.  If we maintain a deep persuasion in our walk with God, then we "can" and "will" overcome every obstacle that tries to stand in our way.  Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Sometimes folks have this erroneous idea that living life as an overcomer means that we are to be impervious to attacks, that somehow victory is defined by the absence of conflict.  There is nothing that is any further from the truth!  The very word itself implies that we have to overcome to be an overcomer.  In other words, there must be a stand taken against what resists our faith in order to claim victory.  When Paul said, "Fight the good fight of faith," he was letting us know there will be times we have to fight, but the good news is, if our fight is based upon the deep values we hold in God's Word, then there is nothing big enough to defeat us! 

        I like something Smith Wigglesworth once said: Faith thrives on a test!  How many believers today do you really think have this kind of resolve living in them?  How many look at adversity as an opportunity to prove God's Word to be true?  So often the problem with folks is that they equate going through a test as having somehow been the result of missing the mark.  In other words, if things aren't working, then we must have done something wrong.  Is that what we think about concerning the life of Joseph?  Did Joseph get thrown into prison because he did something wrong or was it because he stood up for something that was right?  The same thing is true of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  They faced adversity because they stood up for something they believed in. And it was the gravity of their own faith that held them steady while the circumstances surrounding them appeared so unsettling.

        Religious minded people want us to believe that going through a test means that somehow we must have stepped out of the will of God.  From the look on their face there seems to be this underlying thought that suggests, "You must have done something to cause all this hardship!"  I always respond by looking at the Word, which according to James said, "Count it all joy when you fall into diver's temptation [tests or trials]" (James 1:3).  The English Standard Version says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..."   Just stop and ask yourself:  If going through a test was simply due to a failure on our part, then why would he tell us to count it a joyful experience?  It seems to me the admonition should be to repent instead of rejoice, if as suggested, the cause for it coming was our disobedience! Then again, how could anyone find joy in facing a trial if one arrived there due to missing God!  No, these kinds of things come because we are living in a world contrary to the plan and purpose of God, not because we have stepped out of the will of God.

         So how did Paul overcome all the obstacles that tried to stand in his way?  He overcame by applying his faith in the faithfulness of God and remained steadfast and unmovable in the Lord.  That is our key to victory!   Being fully persuaded!