Remaining Steadfast Under Trial

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:1-4 ESV)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12 ESV)

What kinds of trials are you facing right now? What kinds of trials have you faced in the past which have severely tested your faith in the Lord Jesus? If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, so you have died with Christ to sin, and you are now living for him in his power and strength, Satan is going to be “hot on your trail,” and he will “pull out all the stops” to try to defeat you and to try to get you to give in to the flesh and to fail and to not trust the Lord to carry you through whatever it is that you are facing.

I think my life has been filled with one trial after another and that Satan has been after me from birth. For I was raised by an extremely abusive father who, to me, was the epitome of Satan. He was mean and hateful. And then four different times in my childhood someone pushed me into or held me underwater to the point to where I could have drowned. Once I was run over by a boy on a bike, and I woke to a policeman standing over me, asking me if I was okay. I had a concussion and vomited for the next several days.

I believed in Jesus Christ at the age of seven, and the more that I got serious about my walk of faith in the Lord and about serving him with my life, the more I kept facing one trial after another. For I took God and his word to heart. I was not a perfect child by any means, but I was not rebellious. I loved the Lord, and I knew that he loved me, and I wanted to follow him with my life very early on. During many missionary conferences I would answer the Lord with, “Send me.” I wanted to serve him with my life.

But because of my seriousness of my walk of faith, I got tested a lot. I had people falsely accusing me of things I did not do or say, and I had people rejecting me, mocking me, being critical of me, ignoring me, and wanting nothing to do with me. Or else they opposed me strongly and cast me aside as though I was a piece of trash for them to get rid of. I have had a lifetime of this kind of treatment, and mostly not from the people of the world, but coming from others who also professed faith in Jesus Christ.

Now there was a short period of time in my life when all this rejection and persecution piled up on me so high that I caved to fear, and I let fear overtake me, rather than faith, and so I gave into the flesh, and I did not obey my Lord and his commandments. And when I tried to get back right with the Lord, more rejection and persecution just got piled on top of me, and so I gave into the flesh again. But the Lord rescued me from all of that, and he put me back on track, and that is why I am here today.

But through it all the Lord taught me perseverance, and he was preparing me for this ministry to which he called me 20 years ago. And through it all he made me strong in the Lord and determined to not ever again let other people’s treatment of me determine what I do. I needed that for what he has had me doing these past 20 years. I needed to have Satan fighting against me all that time, and he still does, so that I would “set my face like flint” (Isaiah 50:7), and so I would stand strong in battle no matter what.

So, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, and so your faith is being tested right now, and so you are being faced with many trials and persecutions and opposing forces coming against you, do not give into fear. Do not let Satan defeat you! Stand strong in the Lord and in his power, and daily put on that armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against you (Ephesians 6:10-20), and keep on walking in obedience to the Lord. And keep on doing what the Lord has called you to do for his glory.

The Lord will give you all the strength that you need to keep going, no matter what Satan brings your way. And the Lord will give you joy, even in your trials, and he will teach you to love and to forgive those who have done evil against you, or who may still be doing evil against you. And he will teach you to pray for your enemies, and to do good to them, even in the face of their present evil being done against you. And accept that God is using all of this for your good, to make you who he wants you to be for his glory.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

When I Am Afraid 

An Original Work / October 17, 2016 

Based off Psalms 56-57

When I am afraid, Lord, I will trust in You.

Your Word, Lord, I praise. I yield my life to You.

Enemies pursue me, slandering Your Name.

Lord, have mercy. I trust in You. Hear my cry today.

Lord, I love Your Word. It comforts me today,

As I look to you, and bow my head and pray.

You are Christ, my Lord. You saved me from my sin,

That I may walk, Lord before You, purified within.

Steadfast is my heart, O God, I sing of You.

I will praise You, Lord. To You, I will be true.

Oh, how great Your love. Your faithfulness endue.

Be exalted, God of heaven. Glory be to You.

https://vimeo.com/187821104