Have you been facing some challenges in your Christian walk? Don’t give up!!! “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31. Today’s blog entry deals with Finishing The Process.
Picture this…There’s a student that is very close to graduating. He/She has worked very hard over the years, and only has one more final exam to complete before graduation. The day before the exam the student gets upset and complains about how tired they are of school. The student comes to the conclusion that he/she can’t handle the pressure any more, so they never take the exam, and as a result they don’t graduate.
Could you imagine if you had a friend or relative in the situation mentioned above, and you had an opportunity to speak with them while there was still a chance for them to take the exam? You would probably say something along the lines of “Don’t quit now, you’re so close, it doesn’t make sense to put in all this work and then not graduate because you didn’t take the last exam.” The student is this scenario isn’t thinking about the big picture, they instead are going off of how they feel at the moment.
On the outside looking in, it can be easy to see the problems with making a decision like that, however if we’re facing a situation like that in our lives, we may not always think about the consequences. There are number of ways this can be applied to the Christian walk, but right now I’m going to focus on male/female relationships. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to be harsh towards people that have made mistakes in the areas I’m about to mention (See Romans 3:23, Romans 8:1). However, I think it’s important to hit on issues like these because they have affected some born again believers. If you’re involved in the things I’m about to mention, I admonish you to Stop, repent, and focus on Jesus.
When it comes to relationships and the desire to be married, some Christians have taken the same path as the student mentioned above and quit the process. This can be done in a number of ways. For example, some people have gotten tired of waiting, and started fornicating (having pre-marital sex). Other people (while they may not be committing sexual sin) have gotten into a relationship with a person who doesn’t love God, and is drawing them away from God. Or sometimes, a person may even jump in a relationship with another Christian, yet know in their heart (by obvious warning signs) that this is not the person that they should be with. You may be thinking now wait a second, if both people are Christians, what’s the problem? There could be many problems with a situation like that. For example, say you have one Christian who has been saved for 5 years, and the other Christian has been saved for 1 month, and has had a history of being in a lot of relationships in the past. It’s probably not going to be a good idea for them to start a relationship, at least not at that time (God could make a situation like that work if He wanted, however my point is that a person should not prey on another person’s weak areas to draw them into a relationship).
When God is preparing us for something (or someone), we should be doing our best to learn, mature, and improve. We should not complain, and we should not try to take things into our own hands. Let us strive to do God’s will throughout our Christian walk regardless of what comes our way. Don’t let the cares of this world cause you to disobey God. Keep renewing your mind with the Word, trust in God, and press through!
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Picture this…There’s a student that is very close to graduating. He/She has worked very hard over the years, and only has one more final exam to complete before graduation. The day before the exam the student gets upset and complains about how tired they are of school. The student comes to the conclusion that he/she can’t handle the pressure any more, so they never take the exam, and as a result they don’t graduate.
Could you imagine if you had a friend or relative in the situation mentioned above, and you had an opportunity to speak with them while there was still a chance for them to take the exam? You would probably say something along the lines of “Don’t quit now, you’re so close, it doesn’t make sense to put in all this work and then not graduate because you didn’t take the last exam.” The student is this scenario isn’t thinking about the big picture, they instead are going off of how they feel at the moment.
On the outside looking in, it can be easy to see the problems with making a decision like that, however if we’re facing a situation like that in our lives, we may not always think about the consequences. There are number of ways this can be applied to the Christian walk, but right now I’m going to focus on male/female relationships. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to be harsh towards people that have made mistakes in the areas I’m about to mention (See Romans 3:23, Romans 8:1). However, I think it’s important to hit on issues like these because they have affected some born again believers. If you’re involved in the things I’m about to mention, I admonish you to Stop, repent, and focus on Jesus.
When it comes to relationships and the desire to be married, some Christians have taken the same path as the student mentioned above and quit the process. This can be done in a number of ways. For example, some people have gotten tired of waiting, and started fornicating (having pre-marital sex). Other people (while they may not be committing sexual sin) have gotten into a relationship with a person who doesn’t love God, and is drawing them away from God. Or sometimes, a person may even jump in a relationship with another Christian, yet know in their heart (by obvious warning signs) that this is not the person that they should be with. You may be thinking now wait a second, if both people are Christians, what’s the problem? There could be many problems with a situation like that. For example, say you have one Christian who has been saved for 5 years, and the other Christian has been saved for 1 month, and has had a history of being in a lot of relationships in the past. It’s probably not going to be a good idea for them to start a relationship, at least not at that time (God could make a situation like that work if He wanted, however my point is that a person should not prey on another person’s weak areas to draw them into a relationship).
When God is preparing us for something (or someone), we should be doing our best to learn, mature, and improve. We should not complain, and we should not try to take things into our own hands. Let us strive to do God’s will throughout our Christian walk regardless of what comes our way. Don’t let the cares of this world cause you to disobey God. Keep renewing your mind with the Word, trust in God, and press through!
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8