waivering faith. I would be telling a bold face lie if I said my faith never waivered. I think a lot of us would. The ups and downs of our relationships with God are part of the gig. My faith is strong, dont get me wrong, but I have experienced a bad case of waivering faith.
waivering:the act of intentionally relinquishing or abandoning a known right, claim, or privilege
From Merriam-Webster itself. Although not all hardships lead to waivering faith they are often times attributed to it.
Look at it this way:
Bad thing happens,
I feel hurt/mad at God for letting it happen,
faith waivers.
Although they sucked to put it bluntly, I can honestly attribute my most intense periods of spiritual growth to these "bad times". They have made me into the human being, the woman, the CHRISTIAN I am today.
Ephesians 6:10-11,13-20 NLT
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.*16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.*17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.*
19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God's mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.*20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God's ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
God knows those hard times are coming! They dont suprise Him. (I mean come on, are you kidding, He's the creator of the universe.) He doesnt leave us to fend for ourselves! He calls us to put on the armor his armor. In Philemon it refers to followers of the way as "soldiers of the cross". We are in Christ's army, of course he will equip us!
When first read, this passage may seem like a list of armor. However upon further inspection and research one will find something interesting. All parts of armor are historically and accurately mentioned except one. The sheath. (for those of you confused its the little holder you put a sword in...oh yeah, you knew that right.) This is left out for a reason. Its meant to be left out because times of trouble, war, battles: they are coming! Our hand must be frozen to the sword! We must be always ready for the warfare, the "bad times".
The best part is this: we dont need to do anything but stand. We dont need to rush in. We dont need to charge. We simply must stand there sword in hand, God by our side, waiting. So put on the armor of the Lord our God and stand.
We already know, that OVERWHELMING victory is ours through Christ (Romans 8:37) We already know how it ends!
Are you living like you're in a world of war?
Sim
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