NO MATTER WHAT
SEP 29 | WRITTEN BY WANDA STEWART
Wanda Stewart reflects on the challenges of maintaining faith throughout life’s ups and downs, emphasizing the importance of turning to God in both struggles and comforts. She highlights the necessity of using the Bible as a weapon against negative emotions and thoughts, encouraging immediate action through prayer and praise. Ultimately, she stresses that faithfulness is a choice, requiring consistent effort in reading scripture, prayer, and fellowship, even when feelings or circumstances suggest otherwise.
I’ve been on this planet for quite a while. 64 years to be exact. That’s enough time for a whole lot of life’s great joys, and also many very low lows. So how do you navigate all of life’s stresses, successes, disasters, pleasures, and sorrows without letting your faith in God waver along the way? The answer is going to be one that you’ve probably heard over and over, but first, I want to talk about the journey.
We were made in the image of God. Jesus wept, and so do I. Jesus got angry, and so do I. Jesus was in agony over what was unavoidable, and I have been too. I was made with emotions that seem to have a life of their own, but I need to figure out how to be sad or angry or scared while still walking in faith that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). NOT an easy balance! And it’s not just the big things I’m talking about. I can be having a perfectly fine day and hop into my car to head to an appointment, only to find it’s out of gas. It doesn’t matter (sort of) whether it’s my fault or someone else’s, my day is now ruined! I’m going to be late. Or I open the dishwasher only to find that someone put the wrong dishes in the wrong spots! Unbelievable! That’s the last straw and I plan to be grouchy for the rest of the night. Social media can be a trigger for all kinds of emotions. Jealousy, hurt, feeling left out and alone…. Why wasn’t I invited to that function? I can’t stop the emotions, but what do I do with them? Well, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s a battle every time and there is no once & done method. But we have been given every tool we need to walk through big or small disappointments, while still living righteously and faithfully with Jesus.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3 – 5
Our offensive weapon is the word of God. It’s of no value if you don’t use it. If you can’t think of a Bible verse for your situation, Google it!
Fear? - Pray Isaiah 41:10,
Unforgiveness? – pray Col. 3:12-13
And do it as soon as unwanted thoughts enter your mind. The sooner you take them captive, the smaller they’ll beand the easier to stop. The longer you let them linger, the more uncontrollable they become. Left unstopped, those thoughts will grow into beliefs that are lies from the enemy.
One of my favorite verses to remind God of (and myself) when discouragement is settling on me like a fog and it feels like God is distant, is “God inhabits the praise of His people” Psalm 22:3 Start praising! God is always in the middle of our praises. Don’t feel like it? Even better! I think the sweetest praise we can offer God is in our darkest moments when it comes from faithfulness and not feelings. How precious it must have been to the ears of God as Paul and Silas sang praises to him from prison, with their feet in shackles and their backs bloody and stinging in pain from being beaten. Acts 16:16-40 Praise: Believe it and do it!
So what about those good and comfortable times in life? The family is healthy, we have enough money to pay our bills, and even enough to go on vacation. Don’t let your guard down! It’s far too easy to put God on the backburner when everything is good. “I’m ok God, I’ll let you know if I need you.” BIG mistake! Satan has you right where he wants you – coasting and ineffective. If you aren’t consistently walking with Jesus, you are vulnerable. I don’t mean vulnerable to attacks. Attacks will come whether you’re walking closely to Jesus or not. “Satan is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” I mean vulnerable to failing when under attack because you haven’t been faithfully walking with Jesus.
This is where I’ll tell you the way to successfully walk through all life has to throw at you. Jesus won’t ever leave you. He cannot be anything except faithful. It’s your choice whether to remain faithful to Him or not. The answer is: read your Bible consistently, know it, pray constantly, and stay close to others who love Jesus too. A simple answer that’s not so simple to do. Really good things, really important things, and really urgent matters are always crowding the time I need to spend with Jesus. But it’s always my choice. Am I going to make the choice to be faithful or am I going to put him off until later? I don’t feel spiritual tingles every time I pray or read my Bible. It’s a choice to spend time with him whether I feel like it or not. When it doesn’t look like anything is changing or that God is even listening, I must not doubt but believe what I read is true. I must make the choice to be faithful. It’s my choice.
I believe what I know instead of believing what I feel or see. I must remain faithful, because Jesus always will.
