Persistent Faith
I got up earlier this morning and felt that I was getting caught up on some of my rest. Most of my day was spent with a trip to the Capitol in Denver. The bill I have been working on was on life support and we had a chance for it to be reconsidered and given another chance for survival. I am thankful that our efforts were successful, but now it goes back to the floor of the Senate for reconsideration. It will be interesting to see what happens, but we are trusting that it will make it through the process as long days are ahead. The Colorado legislative session must end by midnight on Wednesday.
The weather today has been cloudy with rain. It is great for the lawn, but I am looking forward to planting a garden some time this week. So hopefully it will dry out for that to happen.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… The Lord saved me from death; and stopped my tears…so I walk in the presence of the Lord in the world of the living...I kept on believing, even when I said, “I am completely crushed,” even when I was afraid and said, “No one can be trusted.” Psalm 116:8-11
Can faith endure the test of trials? So often the difficulties of life will cause our faith in God to waiver. Many have talked about a crisis, a loss, some trial as the reason they “lost faith.” But our faith is for times of trials and difficulties.
These words of Psalm 116 caught my attention because of the declaration of persistent faith. The Psalmist talks about being “completely crushed” “afraid” and having “no one to trust.” This situation many have come from the suffering of others. Others that he should have been able to trust and then he came to the conclusion, “no one can be trusted.”
But in this Psalm we see reasons to trust in the Lord even when we are alone and have suffered more than we believe we can bear. The Psalmist did not say “he believed because the Lord saved him from death…” What we see is because of persistent faith he experienced the Lord’s intervention and deliverance.
Our verses above are toward the end of a list of reasons why the Psalmist says that, “I love the Lord.” If someone were to ask you why you loved God, what would you say?
Look at the litany of God’s character and faithfulness found in Psalm 116.
“I love the Lord, because he hears me…He listens to me every time I call to him…The Lord is merciful and good; our God is compassionate. The Lord protects the helpless…the Lord has been good to me.” (Psalm 116:1-6)
We can rest assured in God’s “track record.” The Lord has proven Himself and His power and protection over and over to multitudes of people. So, in our lives even when we feel down, discouraged and distressed. We can still maintain a strong faith and persist in our believing. It is one thing to understand that the Lord is “good” it is another to be able to say, “the Lord has been good to me.” The later is the declaration of those with persistent faith.
As for me, I’m thankful that the Lord save me from death, stopped my tears and has enabled me to “walk” (literally) in the land of the living.