Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Robert Murray McCheyne
Persistence
When we are facing great obstacles in life, we who know God can rest in the fact that these struggles are only temporary and can’t compare with what is coming some great day (Rom 8:18), so we know that whatever happens to those who love God, all things, good and bad, will work out according to God’s good promises and purposes, of which not one will ever fail. We just have to keep persevering.
Strengthening Faith
Have you heard the old saying, “What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger?” I think there is some truth to that because when a baby is learning to walk, they fall time and time again, but what most don’t know is the child’s muscles are getting stronger and stronger and each time the child falls, they are closer to walking. There is strength in the struggle to walk, just as there is strength in the Christian’s walk with God. Faith that’s never been tested is a faith that’s never been strengthened.
Trusting God
When it seems God is far away and we are in a so-called, “dark night of the soul,” it seems that our faith is most severely tested, but this is the time when we can stretch our faith further than ever before. It’s like getting called into an emergency situation like when I had to substitute for an injured runner in high school at a track meet. I was an underdog, and I thought, “no way,” but when I thought of the team, I thought I’d give it my best. As it turn out, I finished 2nd, but that was enough to help our team with points, because it was a team track meet, not an individual one. I faced my fear of the unknown, uncertain if I would humiliate myself before my team mates or not, but I trusted God and not my legs.
Conclusion
Can you see how faith takes a firmer hold when it struggles with adverse appearances? For example, if you try to help a butterfly out of its cocoon, it will come out, but then it will die. That’s because the butterfly couldn’t fly. A butterfly that can’t fly won’t be around long. It is better that the butterfly struggle and we don’t interfere. The butterfly must gain strength in the struggle, because only after the long and hard struggle, can the butterfly finally fly.
