Paul commended Philemon for his loyal faith toward the Lord Jesus (Philemon 1:5). Loyal faith would be a faith that does not become disloyal because of painful circumstances; a faith of unutterable trust in God which never dreams that He will not stand by us. Satan used a horrible change of circumstances to make Job renounce God but God used Satan to make a "good" man holy! What Satan intended for destruction, God intended for refinement.
Do you know what was the most-often repeated command from Jesus? I was rather surprised to learn that it was "FEAR NOT." Well, hold on a minute! Fear is one of the emotions God has created in us and there are certainly many things in my world, in my life, to make me afraid. Let me dig into the Saviour's Words. He did not command us to never feel fear. Certainly a sense of fear has often been a means of protection. What Jesus actually said was "Do not be controlled by fear; do not let fear control you or what you do." Paul said the same thing in 2 Timothy 1:7; -- "A spirit of fear does not come from God but His gift to us is a spirit of power, love, calm and balance." Truly these characteristics are desperately needed by believers today and the Holy Spirit, Who yearns over us, is longing to produce them in us.
Listen, listen again, listen always and hear Jesus whisper in your heart, "Don't be afraid." For several months our lives have been drastically altered by worsening circumstances.
But ... so what? Can even the worst of circumstances diminish the value and victory of the Cross of Christ or indicate that God has forgotten us or dim the assurance of Heaven? I have no right to pronounce a verdict on God until I have come through the trial because it is in the trial that I learn to know God better.
Someone has said, "Whining lets the brute know that there is a victim in the neighbourhood." I have so much to learn. How I long for every fleshly desire to be crowded out by the one desire for the Living God Himself, fueled by passion for Jesus. I'm asking the Lord through prayer and fasting to make me the vigilant enemy of self-indulgence and self-pity. Some lines from long ago come back to me:
God pity those who cannot say,
"Not mine but Thine," who only pray
"Let this cup pass," and cannot see
The purpose of Gethsemane.
Because I want to be holy, I must TAKE TIME TO BEHOLD HIM.
