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What you think about God is vitally important because it affects every aspect of your life. If you don’t have an accurate Scripture-based understanding of who He is, your view of Him will constantly change with your circumstances. When life is turning out the way you want, you’ll exult in His goodness and faithfulness, but if difficulties and suffering come, your faith might begin to waver. Instead of trusting in what the Bible says about the Lord, you’ll wonder, Where is God? Why isn’t He answering my prayers? Doesn’t He care?
There’s no one more trustworthy than the Lord. Nothing in this created world is absolutely reliable. People will let us down, financial security evaporates, and philosophies prove to be false. But God and His Word stand forever. If you doubt this, consider how His faithfulness has been displayed in your life already.
God’s faithfulness is our foundation. Every believer has staked his or her eternal future on the trustworthiness of almighty God. If He isn’t faithful, the entire Christian life is impoverished, and we are without hope. But God is faithful. He holds our lives in His hands and gives us the strength to endure difficult circumstances with hope, joy, and gratitude.
If you are a believer who’s floundering in your spiritual life, perhaps it’s because your concept of God is too small. You need to see Him as the omnipotent, unchanging God who reigns over you and circumstances. He’s always concerned about your difficulties and pain, and you are never outside of His protection.
The bigger your view of God, the greater your peace in both good times and bad. He is forever faithful, and this is a truth you can depend on in every situation for the rest of your life. By trusting Him, you have nothing to lose but your anxiety and fear.
We learn God’s will by reading His Word. There we find rules and commands that will lead to our success and principles for daily application. The Bible doesn’t detail every possible situation we might face, but its principles equip us to make decisions about any and every circumstance we encounter. Studying God’s Word is the only way for a believer to recognize His will. Today’s passage says the sacred writings can give us the wisdom we need in order to be fully capable and equipped for the work God wants us to accomplish.
The Christian life is a journey filled with both abundance and challenge John 10:10. At the same time, it is to be characterized by the fruitfulness that comes from following our perfect Guide and Companion.
The Lord desires that His children be willing to seek His specific plan for their life and take on anything He calls them to do. He uniquely gifts us to serve according to His will. But if we’ve already decided that we can’t or won’t, whatever the reason, then we’re acting by our own will instead of the Lord’s.
The Holy Spirit teaches us, but our responsibility is to study Scripture in order to get to know God’s nature and learn His promises. As we do these things, our confidence in Him grows, and we lean on Him more.
Consider the responses, actions, and decisions you’ve made in the past few days. How many of those were led by the Spirit? Living on the basis of trust in Christ requires belief and action. As you allow Him to lead, faith will grow.
In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs us to love our adversaries and treat them well. Both Matthew and Luke’s records indicate that when Jesus said this, He used a form of the Greek word agape, which refers to unconditional love. This love isn’t a superficial affection or feeling of goodwill, and it’s not based on the nature or appearance of the other person. Agape is the deepest kind of love we can display.
At first, using this Greek word in regard to enemies seems counterintuitive, but actually it is the perfect solution: agape forms through an act of our will. When we choose to love, our emotions follow the decision of our mind.
For example, when we pray for our enemies, it changes our heart—not all at once but over time. And when we ask God to help us express genuine Christlike love towards our enemies, those requests mold us too. That’s the kind of prayer God is delighted to answer.
A bitter response toward an enemy will yield only negativity, but a gracious response can have profound results. God has a redemptive plan in mind for every person, and we have an opportunity to participate in that plan when we display agape, the unconditional love of the Lord.
Contrast this snapshot of Jesus’ warm nature with the picture some Christians have of God—they see Him as a judgmental taskmaster who motivates by intimidation. While it’s true we are to obey God’s commands, we’re also to delight in Him just as we would in the company of a close friend.
When we envision a harsh God, we end up devoting much time and energy trying to “earn” our salvation. But God’s sovereign authority is perfectly balanced with everlasting, unconditional love. He wants His children to relax and enjoy spending time with Him.
Our Father looks past our flaws and instead sees the precious child He created. In fact, because of His great love, He sent Jesus Christ to save our life so we could be with Him eternally in heaven. We have no greater friend.
By sending His Son Jesus to die in our place, God the Father made it possible for each of us to be reconciled to Him. When we accept His offer of salvation, we move from a state of estrangement to permanent adoption as His children (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:5).
And because the Holy Spirit indwells believers to provide guidance and teaching, we can experience a unity with other Christians, which is expressed through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Since we are all unique, this does not in any way imply uniformity. However, it does point to living in submission to the Father and displaying attitudes and behavior that will strengthen connections with our spiritual family.
Jesus knew the importance of embracing unity within His church, and in one of His last recorded prayers, He asked the Father for it three times (John 17:11,20-23). To honor Jesus’ prayer, let’s look at several aspects of our faith that unify us as believers:
One body. God adopts people into His family without regard for race, gender, or denomination. Trust in Jesus Christ is all that matters (Galatians 3:28).
One Spirit. All Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We’re different on the outside, but as believers, we all have the Spirit to empower and guide us.
One hope. As believers, we share a common hope—the return of Jesus and life in heaven with Him.
One Lord. Jesus’ lordship extends over all people. We should submit to His authority in every area of life.
One faith. Believers are united in one faith, which is founded on several basic truths: Jesus is God; He lived a sinless life, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, where He’s seated at God’s right hand.
By learning to see what we have in common, we can more easily overlook our differences. Seeing our unity, people will be ready to hear the good news that God offers a way to have peace with Him and with others.
If you feel that you’re going backward instead of forward, here are five steps to correct your course:
God promises to make His children beautiful throughout life. How can you cooperate with His gracious work?
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