Right now things seem like they are topsy-turvy in the world, don’t they? With all the talk of the economy, the elections coming up, the tribulations in the Middle-East and 2012-talk, it can be a bit overwhelming. Even people in the Church seem a bit nervous about the current times. We as believers, however, have promises given to us in the Word of God that should encourage us and cause us to be excited about who our God is. I know I have gotten very excited about what God is doing and going to do, in my life. We have a good God that is always revealing Himself more and more to us. He is not in the habit of revealing Himself less and less. Are we growing more in Him, allowing Him to show us who He is and what He is going to do in our lives, through His Word? Or are we paying more attention to the cares of this world, taking our eyes off Him and putting them on the circumstances? Are you getting closer to Him or farther away from Him? What are you looking at?
I have had the privilege of ministering at a youth group here in my local church for just over a year now and I have grown so much. Now that I am developing more into the ministry God has called me to, more and more people are coming to me with questions and concerns about what is happening. All across the board from the youth, to personal friends and even some in church leadership seem to be looking at the situation as, to put it lightly, daunting. As I have looked into the Word of God for the answers, and that is where we should always go to find the answers, I have gotten so excited about what His Word does in our lives.
The Word of God transforms us and causes us to become just like Him. Every day is supposed to have an exciting adventure to see what God is going to do in our lives. We are to grow in Him and become the confident, strong and glorious church that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against, Hallelujah! How do we develop into that? We are supposed to get into His Word and let it shape and mold us into His very image.
In Romans 1:16-17, the Word says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Once faith starts to get on the inside of us, we are then supposed to develop and grow, going from faith to faith. We learn something, apply it and see God move in our lives. When we see the miracle working power of God in our lives, our trust and confidence in Him can’t help but grow. So we get in the Word more…and more faith arises out it. This is how we develop from faith to faith – we see in His Word, what He has done, is doing and will do for our lives.
In James 1:2-3, we read, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Our faith gets tested in this world. Not by God, but by the enemy, Satan. He is a master distracter. Satan’s one goal is to separate you from God and His Word. The best way he can do that, is by getting you to take your eyes off of God and onto the circumstances you may be facing. As believers, we are to keep our eyes on the Lord and His Word. When we do this patience is working in us, growing our confidence in Him, while we go through the trials. We never stay in the trials! Another way of referring to patience in the Bible is to, wait on the Lord. Wait on Him! He will show up and bring you out of whatever you are facing. In Isaiah 40:31, it says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” When our faith gets tested, we get patience. When we walk in patience and really wait upon the Lord, our strength gets renewed. Psalms 84:5, 7 says, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.” We go from faith to faith and with every faith victory we go from strength to strength in God and His Word.
I don’t think there is any believer that could say that Jesus was weak in faith or that His faith didn’t make Him strong. Just look at the phrase that we use so often in our Christian walk, “weak in faith”. True faith produces strength, lack of faith produces weakness. As we grow in our confidence and trust in Him, the stronger and stronger we get. We start to rely on God and His Word for everything, just like Jesus did. Jesus relied completely on the Father. He said in John 5:19, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” We become more like Jesus as we grow from faith to faith and go from strength to strength. And in 2 Corinthians 3:18 it says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” When we look into the Word, it transforms us. We allow the Spirit of God to flood into our lives and change us into His very image. When we truly become doers of the Word of God, we start to look just like Him! Glory to God!
This is why we can’t look at the circumstances of the world. God has a plan for us, who are in Him. We are to keep our eyes on Him and grow from faith to faith, then go from strength to strength and finally go from glory to glory. If we take our eyes off of Him we allow the enemy to distract us from the glorious plan of God. Satan has his own plan to, but his is for us to go from fear to fear and I don’t remember seeing that verse in the Bible. If we get our eyes on all the cares of this world, rather than God’s Word, then fear and trouble are on their way! Keep your eyes on the Word, grow in faith and strength so that you can resist the enemy and he will flee from you (James 4:7). And when the enemy flees, the glory of God is free to move in your life, like you have never experienced before. His miraculous power can develop in your life, just like it did in Jesus’. But it all starts with what you’re looking at, the circumstances or the Word. Right now, more than ever we need to look at and stand on the Word. So I ask you again, what are you looking at?