The Strength to Go On
For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. - (Hebrews 11:32–34)
Have you ever had a lapse of faith? I have. I don’t mean that I have ever doubted my salvation or doubted the Bible. But there are situations I have gone through that caused me to wonder how I would get through them.
One of those times was when the Lord called our son Christopher to heaven. I know he is in heaven. I know that I will see him in heaven one day. But then there is day-to-day living. Sometimes I think, He is gone, and I will never see him again. When this happens, I will preach the gospel to myself. (I need to hear the gospel as well as preach it.) Sometimes I will preach to myself when I’m in my car. I’ll say, “Greg Laurie, you listen to me. Jesus Christ died on the cross, and He rose again from the dead. He said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.’ You will see your son again.” I will say that to myself. I believe it. My hope is in the Word of God and in the Lord who will sustain me. And I hope that your hope is in Him too.
We all will have lapses of faith. And when that happens, I would encourage you to believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts. Believe what you believe because it is true.
We should not put our hope in people. We should not put our hope in things. We need to put our hope in God. That is what the Bible teaches. Psalm 42:11 says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!” This will give us the strength to go on in life.
Copyright © 2016 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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