Christ Will Rescue You: October 2022

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Experience the Power of God

Matthew 22:29(NLT)^“Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”

Why do the same situations keep happening in my life – I thought I learned my lesson. I feel like I’m going backwards instead of forward.

Have you ever heard someone say, “My faith just isn’t strong enough”? Can you relate? I can. I’ve said this, too, at certain points in my life. Situations didn’t turn out the way I thought, and the relationship, things, and goals I sought after didn’t measure up to my expectations. There were times where I felt that nothing was going right. I thought I was doomed to face disappointment after disappointment. It got to a place where I expected things to go wrong before anything any ever happened. At that time in my life, it never occurred to me that my believing was upside down. I was believing for the worst outcome, and the worst outcome is what I received. My faith never had a chance, because the driver of it, my beliefs, were going in reverse.

Many of God’s children are feeling about their lives the way I used to feel about mine. Just when it seemed we’ve gotten a clear understanding of what it means to walk by faith, something knocks us for a loop, and our confidence begins to wobble. It feels like our faith took a back seat, and fears and worries got behind the wheel of our lives. We might walk away thinking that our faith isn’t strong, but this may not be the case at all. We must remember that faith comes from God. James 1:17 tells us that our Heavenly Father is the Giver of good and perfect gifts, so the faith of Jesus Christ can never be weak. All believers that are born again of God’s Spirit have the potential for great faith. Our issue is that our believing is pumping the breaks, and we may not realize that this is happening.

Our goal must be to bring our believing to such a level that we walk in a faith that is on the level of Jesus Christ. We do this by changing the way we think. Right now, many of us feel like we’re sinking. We’re asking, “God, where are you in this? I’m not hearing your voice.” We wonder if we can even tell the difference between our own voice and the voice of God. Well, God has never had a problem with speaking, so that is never the issue. If we’re not hearing Him audibly, we need to get in His Word and hear Him speak to us there.

Matthew 4 gives us the record of Jesus Christ being tempted in the wilderness after he had fasted 40 days and night. He was tempted by the satan, and with each temptation that the devil hurled his way, Jesus Christ answered it with “IT IS WRITTEN…” God’s Word is the Spirit’s sword. It’s our bread of life and spiritual armor, and we should always have confidence that the written Word of God is our greatest source of truth. The Holy Spirit will never speak anything to us that is outside the perimeters of God’s Word. The Spirit works in us, and when we apply ourselves to reading and studying the scriptures, the indwelling Holy Spirit will both teach and encourage us as we read.

Jesus Christ said to his disciples in Matthew 6:30(NLT), “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Our Master Jesus walked and talked with the disciples daily. He taught them the truth because God sent him into the world to be a light, and light reveals the truth. Jesus wanted them to have his faith. He wanted them to believe that God sent him into the world to save us, and that by believing God’s Word, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23 NIV)

Our faith must rise to the level of the faith that Jesus Christ has, and believing God’s Word is the way to achieve this. Our minds are the battleground where believing and doubt duke it out. It’s up to us who wins this battle. We can stand on the truth of God’s Word, or we can allow doubt to win, but God hopes we’ll choose faith in Him every time. Ephesians 3:16 tells us that God will empower us with inner strength through His Holy Spirit. We must trust this with all that we are. Ephesians 3:20(NKJV) beautifully declares that He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Let the Spirit be at work within and partner with him through your believing. Trust God with all that you are, and you will experience the His power lifting you higher and higher as you grow in knowledge and obedience of His matchless Word.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Fully Developed Endurance

Psalm 34:18-20 (NLT)
“18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. 19 The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. 20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken!”

I’ve been on this Christian journey for many years, and I’ve seen and heard many stories. Many of them were from women who’ve endured horrific and destructive relationships. They are outside the stereotypes that many of us have when it comes to domestic violence and abuse. We might envision a woman with very limited resources that is totally dependent on her abuser. The stereotype might lead us to believe that her intelligence is underdeveloped, and she doesn’t have a mind of her own. No doubt movies and books have helped to form that narrative, but these stereotypes do not always depict reality. The truth is that both men and women endure domestic violence, and many of these individuals are successful in their careers or other endeavors. Poverty and level of intelligence are not the determining factors here, but there are a few common denominators. Among them is the fact that most individuals that have suffered domestic violence and abuse want to be loved deeply, and the void we’ve felt was weaponized against us.

In the Book of Genesis, the record of Adam and Eve shows us God’s divine plan for their happiness and bliss. He placed them in the middle of paradise, provided everything they could ever possibly need, and He walked with them daily through His Holy Spirit. Their lives were splendid in every way, but the devil entered the picture and put doubt in their minds. Doubt is an enemy of God, so the devil knew that once he had planted seeds of doubt in the minds of Adam and Eve, his evil plot to get them to bow to him would win. The seed of doubt that the enemy planted ultimately caused Adam’s and Eve’s allegiance to transfer away from God and into darkness. This seed of doubt grew and because they acted upon the doubt in their minds and hearts, the seed produced disobedience to God.

Genesis 2:25(NLT) says, “Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.” The first couple didn’t have any shame when they were in perfect harmony with God. But once they disobeyed our Heavenly Father, they left the territory of His bliss and entered a spiritual territory that was the exact opposite. After they sinned against God by eating of the forbidden tree, Genesis 3:7(NLT) says, “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” Before Adam and Eve sinned against God, they only knew His goodness, but after they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their eyes were open to evil for the very first time. Here, in Genesis 3:7, we see the result of them turning their backs on God. This disobedient act of bowing to satan by believing his words over God’s Word allowed shame to enter into them. From this seed of doubt, a tree of shame sprouted and caused all kinds of fears to emerge as well.

Shame continues to do serious damage to the human mind, heart, and soul. This is never more apparent than in situations of domestic violence and abuse. Someone we loved is doing us harm, but we still allow them entrance and room in our lives. There’s a reason for this, because it is not God’s desire or Will that any person should be physically abused and mistreated. He wanted Adam and Eve to remain in His bliss, but they chose against it. As children of God living today, we can reject their actions, and enter into God’s rest and bliss, where there is peace ever more.

I’ve known women that are meticulously dressed, well put together, and very successful, but on the inside, they are screaming for help. They go home, close the door, and enter beautiful homes of terror. Like most who suffer abuse, these women are filled with anxiety, wondering if they will be able to sleep through the night without being beaten. Some of them were warned by their family members about the partner they chose. The signs were there, but those signs were ignored, and it’s usually because we’re clinging to the person or the relationship out of fear—fear of being alone, or the fear of not being able to make it in life without the abuser’s help.

If we’ll think long and hard about the situation, we might find that we are shamed into powerlessness. Because of this, we head down the treacherous path of self-condemnation. Romans 8:1(ESV) declares, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Our Great Redeemer has rescued us from darkness. Through him we are our truest, highest selves. He has set us free to live a life of abundance and peace in him, so we must be fully persuaded in Christ that we can have what God says we can have.

Many of us struggle to believe this because we’ve been without the peace of God for so long. Our lives are chaotic and filled with anxiety, and this tricks us out of having faith in God. As it was with Adam and Eve, we’re being tested and tempted by the devil, and he’s trying to squash our endurance so that we will be hindered from building faith momentum. Our Heavenly Father has empowered us in Christ. This means that we can resist the devil’s tricks and not allow him to keep us down. The key to doing this is to develop endurance so our faith grows strong, and we will no longer be paralyzed by someone that is trying to undermine the power God has given us.

James 1:3-4(NLT) tells us, “3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” No matter how challenging the obstacles appear, God has made us overcomers. We must wake up and prevent shame from stealing our power. We can be the more than conquerors that Jesus Christ has made us if we learn more about him.

Our goal should be to endure in faith the same way that Christ did. We must begin to feed our minds, hearts, and soul with God’s goodness. This is the only way to choke out seeds of doubt at their root. It’s the way to develop endurance so that we are not going back and forth, always wrestling between doubt and faith. Understand that Jesus Christ has already won the battle, and he tells us that we can too, through our faith in God. Let’s get anchored in faith, so that no matter what, our confidence is in God, and we can stand tall because He always has our backs. ■

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

He Comforts Us in All Our Troubles

1Peter 5:9(NLT)
“Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

I saw an elderly lady in the grocery store this week, and we struck up a conversation. We started talking about the high price of bacon, but by the end, we were giving each other a “God Bless You”, which is the greatest gift we can give to any person. This lady was really bothered that bacon was so pricey. She mentioned that she was having a hard time keeping food on the table. She then said, “I can’t complain though, people everywhere are having a tough time.” I instantly thought of the verse in 1Peter 5:9. The lady thanked me for blessing her, and we parted ways, but our conversation stuck with me. Sometimes when we as God’s children are going through trials and tribulations, it seems like it’s only happening to us. But as God’s Word tells us, we’re not alone in the struggle, no matter how challenging it may be.

Now is definitely a time when we need to encourage each other to remain strong in our faith in God. He never disappoints, and He’s given us the authority to pour His love and mercy into the lives of others, especially when they’re going through some of the same things that we’ve endured ourselves. 2Corinthians 1:3-4(NLT) says, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4; He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

The Apostle Paul is a great example for us. He encouraged the church in Corinth when they were putting up with false teachers. They were not sticking to the true and pure Word of Christ, and in some cases, they were believing a different kind of gospel than the Gospel of Christ. They had accused Paul of not being a true apostle, but he did not allow this to lessen his love for them. He had gone through many trials, and God has rescued him time after time. Paul’s heart was to teach, encourage, and bring the light of Christ to them so that they would not be blinded by satan. God empowered the Apostle to fight the good fight of faith, and He will do the same for us.

It’s no question that all of us will go through seasons in our lives when we experience heartbreak, suffering, and pain. We must lean on 2Corinthians 1:3-4 and have faith in God. He sees and knows everything. 1Corinthians 10:13(NLT) says, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

We must do our very best to keep the truth of God’s faithfulness in our minds and hearts and pull from this every moment of our lives. Tribulation can paint a picture that opposes the truth of our faith, but we must not give way to this. Psalm 9:9(NLT) declares, “The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” He never promised that the road would be easy, but He promised to be with us every step of the way. We can depend on His goodness, power, and promises, and we should encourage others to do the same.■

“He Comforts Us in All Our Troubles”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.