Afflictions and Endurance of Faith

[nam-eno]

Greetings:

As we progress through our daily lives, we are faced with moments of great joy and moments of great pain and sorrow. At times we count our blessings and at others we wonder at our misfortune. At times we offer our thanks to God for all that he has brought us and at others we present our petitions to be delivered from that which challenges us. At times, we see the hand of God in our lives while at others we wonder why He does not deliver us, when in reality, He already has.

As we walk through our challenges, as we face our afflictions, we are faced with a variety of tests within this world. We may question our misfortune, we may praise the Lord for our blessings, but often we are challenged to understand the events of our lives. We are told that “there is an appointed time for everything.� (Ecc 3:1) We lead our lives through free will, yet, we are impacted by the free will of others.

We create the conditions of the world. It is God's word that guides us to the life to which we are called, but it is our choice as to the path we take. The path we choose is not isolated to us for our choices ripple into the lives of others, just as the lives of others ripple into us. For this reason, Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us. (John 15:12)

When we face suffering, we pray for deliverance, but we do not always see the providence of God within the challenges we face. Satan presents many temptations to divide us from God's community and from each other. We do not always see Satan's hand seeking to lead us away from the word of the Lord and into eternal darkness.

Only through faith are we able to walk the journey to God's beckoning hand. Faith is what tempers us, faith is what guides us through the challenges, faith is what sustains us through tribulations, faith leads us to fulfillment, faith is what leads us to serve the will of God. Through faith we can endure any challenge. Through faith we can know the true peace, love and mercy of our Lord.

If we are challenged, if we are in pain, it is faith that will guide us to the healing hand of God. If we suffer, we should rejoice in that there is hope, for in the end, the greater the challenge, the greater the blessing if we stay true to our faith. If for a moment of time we should stray from the path, the Lord is still there waiting for us. Blessed are we that our Lord suffered, died and was buried for our sins so that in the resurrection, He would establish our path to the kingdom of heaven, our path to an eternal life within the mercy, peace, love and grace of the Lord.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access (by faith) to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.� Romans 5:1-10

Peace and love be with you,
Nam Eno