Paul, after many, many, many trials, told us he didn’t lose heart. (2 Corinthians 4)

But there are times I’ve lost heart, even with a much easier life than Paul’s. Perhaps you have too.

Fortunately, Paul told us how to not lose heart.

How to not lose heart

First,

Be grounded in spiritual truth. The fact is we, followers of Jesus Christ, are under God’s care. He is working on us now, and will continue until the day of Christ Jesus, to mold us into the image of His Son (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:29). We have been granted eternal life (John 3:15). Christ will present us to the Father holy and blameless (Colossians 1:22).

Second,

Focus on spiritual realities, not the problems we face. “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Third,

Don’t get mired in the problems, but in the results God is producing. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Fourth,

Look at the eternal spiritual reality. “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Don’t lose heart as you learn how to not lose heart!

Keep at it.

Keep building up your knowledge of spiritual truth.

Keep practicing where you place your focus.

(But, of course, jump when a car is coming at you! Don’t ignore reality.)

The world is in a mess. Horrible terrorism in Europe. Violence in the USA. Division. 2016 politics.

Closer to home: We’re all dealing with something: Illness, aging, financial woes.

What is coming? Eek!

Ok, now STOP!

STOP!

God knows the future. God knows your future.

He loves His children, and will bring us into His kingdom holy and blameless.

His  promises never fail.

He is preparing us, through trials, through whatever our situations are, to handle what is to come.

Remember:

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24–25)

He is all-powerful. He is able to keep us from stumbling. He promises to bring us home.

Trust:

We are told not to fear. We have good reasons to trust Him and face the future with hope and peace.

Lord, help us believe You. Help us rely on You. Help us trust You have us safe in Your arms.

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—defends God’s children. We are not defenseless against the world, the flesh, or the devil, but have infinitely wise, powerful, and loving protectors.

Yahweh

Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? (Job 1:10)

The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. (Psalm 121:7)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? (Psalm 27:1)

The battle is the Lord’s … (1 Samuel 17:47)

Father

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3–5)

Jesus Christ

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 john 2:1)

Holy Spirit

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1:13)

The Spirit also helps our weakness, … [for] the Spirit Himself intercedes for us… according to the will of God. (Romans 8: 26-27)

The Spirit of God dwells in [His children]. (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Praise Our Defender

Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, I praise You for being our defender. Father, You have built a hedge around Your children and only what You allow or cause gets through Your hedge into our lives. And when You have allowed something hard to touch us, You defend us against it, and use it for good. Lord Jesus Christ, You strengthen and protect us from Satan, and You continually intercede for us before the throne of God, defending us from the evil one’s accusations. Holy Spirit, You dwell in us, have sealed us for the day of redemption, and pray for us according to the will of God.

God, because You are the defender of Your Children, we truly have nothing to fear. Forgive us for forgetting. Help us walk in Your way, knowing You are with us. Help us be grateful.

This is the fourth in a series on praising our God. See previous months for A, B, and C!

Do you trust God? Do you trust Him for your salvation? Do you trust that He will bring you to heaven?

I sure hope so, because, for the child of God, those who have repented, believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and have put their faith (trust) in Him, those are sure things.

Day to day, though, do you trust Him during good times and bad? Do you trust Him in your trials?

Trials are God’s strength-training courses. We get the opportunity to exercise our trust. Trials make us stronger. (But, of course, pray about what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be passive.)

Here’s how to trust during trials

Remember: Look Back

1. You are God’s child, declared righteous, raised up with Christ, and seated with God in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)
2. He loves you with an everlasting love. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can take you out of His love. He loves you so much that He gave His Son to die for you that you might live with Him in heaven forever. (Romans 8:38-39)
3. Your loving Father is sovereign over everything and everybody all the time. There are no exceptions. Nothing happens without God’s action or permission. Whatever touches you—good, bad, evil—is controlled by Him. (See, just for example, Ephesians 1:11 and Psalm 115:3)

Consider: His presence in the present

4. While He sometimes allows bad things to happen to His children, He promises to bring good out of it. He promises to make you into the image of His Son. (Romans 8:28-29)

Look ahead: His future promises will not fail

5. Trials benefit you. Paul says suffering produces endurance, then character, then hope (Romans 5:3-4). James says trials produce steadfastness, so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:3-4). Peter says trials test the genuineness of our faith, resulting in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7).
6. One day Christ will present you to the Father holy and blameless! (Ephesians 1:4, Colossians 1:22)

When you are in the midst of a trial

When you are in the midst of a trial, you, of course, need to ask the Lord what He wants you to do. Perhaps there is a solution for your problem. Perhaps you need to ask for help. But, perhaps, you need to endure.

In any case, determine to remember the five points. If you practice during the “easy” trials, it will be easier to fall into His arms when life is really tough.

We are not alone in bad times—or good times.

Practice. Exercise your “trust” muscles.

Pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

This world is in chaos, and getting more evil as the very last days approach.

But we, as God’s children, can see God’s lamp shining in a dark place, and must pay attention.

The day will dawn, and the morning star will arise in our hearts.

That is the prophetic word made sure.

We can’t ignore the awful things around us. But we can, we must, pay attention to God’s shining lamp.

We must, as Christ taught us, “to straighten up and lift up [our] heads, because [our] redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28

There is hope. Don’t despair.

Can. Must. Will.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are the Creator.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

All things came into being through [Christ]. And apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:3)

For by [Christ] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)

What God says about Himself

When the LORD answered Job, His rant focused on Himself as the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”

“Have you ever commanded the morning?”

And on and on for more than 100 verses! (See Job 38-41)

Fundamental to Everything

Belief in God as the Creator, our Creator, fundamentally affects everything.

When we see Him as Creator, we come to know something about His infinite power, knowledge, wisdom, and immorality.

When we see Him as Creator, we see His right over us, and how we should live our lives. We see our failure, our need for salvation, and His provision.

When we see Him as Creator, it affects our total worldview.

When we see Him as Creator, we see ourselves as created beings, and align ourselves under Him.

When we see Him as Creator, we know we owe Him everything.

When we see Him as Creator, and we are His children, Christ-followers, we know He is our help and our hope.

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)

Declare the Glory of God

Many of the statements of praise and worship through both the Old and New Testaments refer to God the Creator.

Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it… (Revelation 10:5-6)

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. (Psalm 107:2)

Praise the Creator—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Praise the Creator, who made everything from nothing, revealing His presence and His glory. You, Almighty God, demonstrated Your absolute power, infinite knowledge and wisdom. As Your created being, I praise You with relief and joy that You are in charge of it all. I am Yours.

Pay now or later?

Pay now and receive blessings later.

OR

Pleasure now and pay later.

Those are crucial differences between obeying the Lord, and choosing sin.

We often talk about the blessings of obedience. There are many blessings, thrilling results of following our Lord. That will be a topic for another time.

Cost of Obedience

We shouldn’t discount that there are costs to obedience. In order to obey Him, we have to deny ourselves, refusing to do what we ourselves want to do, and we have to take up our cross, engaging in something we would not have chosen.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)

Your will be done. (Matthew 6:10)

Whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35)

The cost of following Christ happens first, with blessings coming later.

Cost of Disobedience

With sin, however, it is reversed. When we sin, there is immediate pleasure. We’ve gotten our own way. We’ve gotten whatever it is that looked great. But, following that, are the consequences of our sins, sometimes significant, and sometimes lasting for a lifetime.

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (Matthew 6:2, 23:5)

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled. (Matthew 23:12)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matthew 23:14)

To get to the blessings, you have to pay the cost

That is true in the secular world, too. My beloved grandmother used to say: “You have to suffer to be beautiful.” That was probably a retort to my complaints about sleeping in hair rollers (Yes, I’m that old!). But you can see it everywhere: Athletes who push their bodies over years in order to win the gold; People studying day after day to master a subject; Dieters who regulate their intake to get to the proper weight.

Be Alert

Remember, the cost of obedience is always less, always, than the cost of disobedience. (See Chapters 13 and 24 in When Storms Come: Will You Be Ready?)