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I have had mountaintop moments in life, but also times that were the absolute pits. Sometimes I battled well as a Christian. Sometimes I almost got knocked out in the ring.
When I did not handle things well, I was even more distressed because I felt I had failed God. I know Him. I love Him. I say I trust Him.
How could I not? He has saved me in this life over and over again. He has promised salvation in the life to come.
I am so thankful that recently He saved me again. That is how I am able to write this.
But satan is sneaky. Remember he is just who Jesus said he was — a thief. He is very focused in what he steals.
He specifically wants to take what Jesus gives us. He wants to steal Love, Joy and Peace.
And most of all, he wants to steal any trust we have in God. He wants to point to anything that did not go as we wanted and say, “Where was your God in that?”
He wants to say, “OK, I will agree with you. God is all powerful. So why did He not prevent what happened to you? Why did He not fix it?”
When he has worn us down a bit, satan will move in for the kill. He will say, “God is the thief. If He took that from you, how can you trust Him not to take something else?”
And our life turns into a parade of doubts and fears. We know satan is wrong, but we want God to step forward and explain Himself to satan and to us.
What was and is His Plan? Do we really believe God loves us and has a good plan for our lives?
As I continue to process the recent events of my life, God has prompted me to consider these questions.
Do I just believe in Him and or do I truly believe Him?
Is He good to His Word and not just mine?
Do I want His Will or just mine?
Do I want just what He can give me or do I want Him?
Am I willing to stop running back and forth in shallow water and launch out into the deep to truly know Him?
Am I ready to go where He wants us to go or am I still expecting Him to follow me?
I have not arrived yet at answering all those questions honestly, but I join Paul in saying,
I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
