"... a faith that inflates during difficult times."

A thought by Louie Giglio, from his book, Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table. (p. 17). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That is what we also need.

Louie says, "I look at Paul and Silas; at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and at all the people throughout Scripture who encountered times of intense trouble yet went bigger with their faith, and I marvel. The prophet Habakkuk stated it clearly when he cried out:

Fig tree

" ' Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my savior.' (Habakkuk 3:17–18 GNT)"

He goes on, "The last two lines indicate huge faith. And did you notice the two phrases repeated three times in Habakkuk’s prayer?

"Even though . . . I will . . .

"Habakkuk basically said, 'Even though there’s no harvest, and even though crops fail, and even though the fields are desolate, and even though the stalls of provision are empty, I will still be joyful and glad because the Lord God is my Savior. I have not lost my faith. In fact, my faith is even greater. I’m still going to rejoice in the Lord. I’m still going to worship God. I’m not going to get sidetracked by attitudes or actions that harm me. When I encounter hard times, my faith inflates.' "

Louie continues, "Those two phrases lay out a powerful cause-and-effect relationship as an example for us to follow. Even though bad things happen, I will still praise the Lord. Even though bad things happen, I will not let my mind be lost to the Enemy."

He later says, "This is not the faith of a Christian who believes in God only when the sun shines. This is not a faith that wilts under pressure. This faith flourishes even though the pressure is on. This faith says, Even though bad things are happening, I will praise the Lord."

And that is the kind of faith we need even when a pandemic seems to be winding down. And that is the kind of faith we need today, isn't it?

Yes, yes!

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog