7 Things to Remember When Trusting God Gets Difficult
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Things to remember when walking with God gets hard
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
That rock was powered by trust! David didn’t know for *certain* what God would do with that rock, he just knew he was supposed to throw it!
1 Samuel 17:40-
When you’re facing something difficult, is it “throw-rocks-at-a-giant-champion” difficult? If not, you can do. If it is, YOU CAN STILL DO IT!
35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
1) God has already delivered you from the corruption and emptiness of the world!
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Why are you serving God in the first place?
Are you serving God because it’s easy? Or because you’ve tasted what’s out there, and know how empty it is?
Hebrews 11:
2) The Christian walk is made of lots of situations that require trusting God.
If that’s too much for you, you’re free to go back to the corruption and emptiness of the World!
Life is this way because of time! Look at how much God values *waiting* on Him! Trust and waiting won’t even be possible in eternity. You have this unique opportunity now, to show God He has earned your trust!
Look at how much God values trusting Him!
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:
3) When was it easy? Walking with God was never not hard!
Nothing about serving God makes sense, is easy,
We’re asked to give up fun sin. We’re asked to meet together regularly. Who does that? We’re asked to give! We’re asked to change our vocabulary. We’re asked to love our enemies, EVEN THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE US!!!!
Outsiders could mock pretty much every aspect of walking with God
Why is this situation you’re in different?
You trusted Him when you did all those things. Is he going to fail you now?
4) If it’s from God, others WILL try to discourage you.
Far from meaning you should quit, let this ENCOURAGE you!
In fact, if what God is asking you to do makes sense to other, you should question if it’s actually God!
God has already delivered you from the corruption and emptiness of the world!
They’ll start out discouraging you, but they’ll end up admiring you, inspired by you. Just like you’re inspired by the people who trusted God before you!
Are you serving God because it’s easy? Or because you’ve tasted what’s out there, and know how empty it is?
5) God orchestrated everything throughout all of history that led you to here.
It’s easy to forget the people of faith who have come before us. We wouldn’t even have church, or the Bible, if it wasn’t for them.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—
38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
If He’s orchestrated everything that led you here, can He work things out for you? Does His Word promise us that He will?
He has earned your trust!
6) All we’ll ever have, is rocks.
If that’s too much for you, you’re free to go back to the corruption and emptiness of the World!
6) All we’ll ever have, is rocks.
What if David had said, “I could be better trained than I am.”?
If you’re waiting for something more, you’ll be waiting forever.
You’re not gonna be okay ‘cause you’re ready. You’re gonna be okay because God’s gonna take care of it.
Our weapons will never look like much. They’re spiritual, but that doesn’t make them less powerful. They’re mighty in God!
7) You only need to know one thing about your situation: Does God want you to do it or not.
HE HAS EARNED YOUR TRUST!!!
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Stop doubting! Stop second-guessing! Stop being double-minded!
Whatever you’re facing, He faced more for you! Whatever lies or doubts are in your head, He faced greater ones! Whatever mockery or persecution you’re hearing, He was beaten and tortured!
Remember what He’s done! Remember all those who came before you!
He designed your body, and all its complexities. He created the universe and finely tuned it to support life! He sent His Son to deliver you from the corruption WE brought on ourselves!!!
He will never fail! He’s worthy of your trust! He’s worthy of your trust! He’s worthy of your trust!
Pray like He’s worthy!
Give like He’s worthy!
Obey like He’s worthy!!!