If
we cling to our confidence as members of God's family, we prevent our trials
from watering down our faith, or putting doubts in our mind about God's
faithfulness. We remain steadfast and immovable to the end (Hebrews 3:14-15).
Israel
grieved God's heart for 40 years when they refused to trust Him to help them to
overcome the giants who faced them in the Promised Land. They failed to believe
God, and their unbelief prevented them from entering in to all He had planned
for them (Hebrews 3:16-19).
As
they wandered in the wilderness, God still provided for them and led them until
the entire generation died of old age. God provides for us too, and gives all
of us rest from our labors when we believe that He is, and that He rewards
those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
The
temptations we encounter in life are basically the same for everyone. If we
trust in Him, God faithfully prevents the temptations from circumventing the
boundaries of our ability in Christ to overcome them. He always gives us a way
to endure and to escape them (1 Corinthians 10:13).
God
does not promise not to give us more trials than we can bear (John 16:33). In
fact, He often heaps more and more discouraging situations on our life in an
attempt to cause us to stop relying on our self, and to trust in His provision
in and through them.
Resting
from our labor (Revelation 4:13) sounds wondrous to me. It means that we rest in
the Lord during our 9 to 5, our daily grind, the endless household chores, settling
arguments between siblings, being too busy to find time to enjoy our intimacy
with our spouse, etc.
Prayer:
Father
God, thank You for Your peace, love, joy and grace, which sustain us through
all of our tribulation as You work character in our life (James 1:3). Thank You
also for helping us to walk away from Satan's attempt to draw us away from You
through temptation. You enable us to succeed as victors rather than to succumb
as victims of the devil's snares (2 Timothy 2:26).
We
do not want to grieve Your Spirit, or to break Your heart, so we praise You for
helping us to recognize Satan's lies and to resist all temptation by renewing
our mind with the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16). Keep us
from living lives that are excessively preoccupied with worldly pursuits, and
to live as a praise to Your holy name.
Thought
for the Day:
If
we make a commitment to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, read the Bible,
listen to the preaching of God’s Word, worship with fellow Christians, and share
with others what Christ is doing in our life, then Satan will find very little
that he can use to tempt us to sin, and overcoming temptation gets easier for
us every day.
-
Psalm 27:11; Ephesians 6:10-18
