“What, what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13 Amp.)

Beloved, can you imagine what life would be like without faith in God? It would be messier than it is now! The devil would have his way and his dominance perfected everywhere. Life, I say, is unlivable without faith in God. What do you think?

Without faith in God, what really would have become of me? Where would I have been? What kind of a person would I be? A reject of course. A failure to tell the truth. And maybe I would be dead by now if it hadn’t been because I dared to believe in the saving grace of God. Waves of satanic attacks would have swept me out of this world.

Beloved, it’s not over until we win! We cannot afford to quit believing at this time. So do not give up, for it is your turn to reign. It’s unheard of that a man or woman as you would throw in the towel.  No, not you! I can see someone on the verge of turning back from following the Lord, wanting to do the wrong thing just to survive. No! You don’t have to quit the journey of faith. You are closer to your destination than the day you first believed. Don’t go the way of Demas who reverted to the world as rightly reported by Paul the Apostle: “for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia” (2 Tim. 4:10 NIV).

Yes, I appreciate the fact that world events are more than enough to weaken anyone’s spirit. One could say that all the ugliness of current affairs is targeted at weakening our spirit from following the Lord. Our radio stations, and news media, have become bearers of bad news. Governments are not working for the common good of the people. Evil and corruption flourish in our lands. Righteousness seems to be thrown to the wind. Yet, I write as commanded – ‘Be the last man standing in your nation for God and His kingdom.’

It seems to me that man’s spirit has been designed by God to be attracted to anything that is good and lovely. Where there is the absence of good in the world, man is weak and vulnerable to all kinds of deception and enticement from the devil. Please, I say to you, “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage” for God knows you need good things for your living. First Peter says, “And after you suffer for a short time, God, who gives all grace, will make everything right. He will make you strong and support you and keep you from falling. He called you to share in His glory in Christ, a glory that will continue forever” (5:10 NCV).

David longed to see the days of prophecy fulfilled for him to become the next king. Oh! How he suffered persecution. I’m sure, he must have asked God, “Where is the promise? If I’m to be a king, why all this suffering?” He asked this because he constantly lived under threats and attacks.

David, though he felt weak, believed and pursued the purpose of God for his life. He almost lost his spirit to the weariness of everyday life. But as a man full of faith, he constantly rose to encourage himself in the Lord, as recorded in the opening Scripture. He verbalized his faith in God – holding strong to his profession. Even when David lost everything, including his fighting men, he encouraged himself. He pursued his enemies, overtook them, and recovered everything. Had these events not been recorded, we might not appear before God with our petty excuses. Remember, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

“We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But He accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before Him. And now He is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to Him. So do not get tired and stop trying” (Heb. 12:1-3 NCV).

Thank you, and many blessings of God be upon you till we meet next week for a possible conclusion on this series.

Peace in Jesus name! Shalom, shalom!!

Sam Elijah
September, 2023