Rabbit’s Foot Jesus?
A common tendency for Christian believers is to slack off in their pursuit of God and the practice of prayer when all things appear to be in order and on “cruise control.” We get the sense that we are handling things ok, neglecting the truth that God sustains us even when we may treat Him with indifference. Then trouble hits and our “control” of life appears in doubt and we reach into our pockets for that “lucky charm” and press Jesus closer to our hearts and cry “help!” A common saying we’ve all heard that goes “when all else fails, pray” seems to accurately depict the situation. Honestly, what kind of relationship is it, earthly or divine, when one party only draws close when they need help in a crisis?
Some people come to faith and proceed in their spiritual journey expecting to escape hardship, challenges and the consequences of their unfortunate decisions. No telling where those notions come from. Certainly not from the Bible. We’re told something else in 1 Corinthians 10:13 about surviving troubles and trials and God’s presence through them. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” The gist of this is that troubles, hardships and trials are going to come . . . but we don’t have to despair or bail. God is in these with us. Right there! He most often won’t make troubles disappear, but he’ll provide comfort, strength, wisdom and His presence if we’ll seek Him. His method is to take us through these challenges, not out of them. Through this we are strengthened in our resolve with God and He is pleased with us and glorified by us. He makes us ready for the even greater trials which life abundantly supplies. We can anchor our trust and hope in Him and build a memory reserve of His faithfulness if we will stay the course with Him.
God’s word expresses He is a friend who “sticks closer than a brother” and says “I will never leave you or forsake you.“ God would like for us to take these truths to the bank as we learn to live by faith (trust), and not by sight or circumstances. (2 Cor. 5:7) Think About It.