“In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NKJV)
We’re in a fight of faith.
You’re not in a walk of faith. It’s a fight — every day. You’ve got to know the Word of God and maintain the truth of who He’s called you to be. And you’ve got to hold on to your confession of faith without wavering. You can’t afford to second-guess God and His Word. You’ve got to go from faith to faith because the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:16, 17).
You are called to live a glorious, fire-filled, encounter-everyone-with-the-gospel kind of life. That’s not a call just for apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. That’s the call of everyone who would say they are a Christian — a disciple of Jesus Christ. Every one of us.
And satan’s job is to take you out of that call. To take the joy out of your life. To take your peace from you. To take your rest from you. To get you in a spin, wondering where God is in life’s hard moments. Don’t you dare let him because God has never moved, He’s never changed, and He’s never gone back on His Word.
According to Ephesians 3:20 (NASB), God is “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us …” He doesn’t give up on you. Don’t give up on Him. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve walked away. It doesn’t matter where you think you’re at. God is right here.
Today is a good day to stir up your faith, to fall in love with Jesus again, to breathe some oxygen into the flame inside of you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t you want to burn for Him like you’ve never burned before? I want to step into and stand and stay in His first love! What I want is the fullness of joy because in His presence is the fullness of joy — a joy that surpasses everything.
In John 16:33, Jesus said we’re going to have tribulation in this world. He didn’t say you “could have” or you “might have.” He said you will have. It’s a promise. But the promise of tribulation should never eclipse the reality of joy when you’re going through the tribulation, the trials — the hard stuff. If God is for you, who can be against you?
He is so head over heels in love with you. And He never changes His mind. His Word is true. And if you haven’t seen it pan out in your life, don’t quit. Don’t give up. He loves you and He’s not a man that He would lie (Numbers 23:19). He’s ready for you to run into His open arms. They’re open wide, ready to receive, ready to redeem, ready to strengthen, ready to overwhelm you with His love — fresh and new.
He’s such a good dad.
I’m pretty emotional right now thinking about His love. But I love Jesus with all my heart. I just want to make Him known. I want people to be able to bring Him into a room when it’s dark. I want people to be able to bring joy into the room when everything’s heavy. I want to see a people believe that they are who God created them to be. I want to see them believe the Bible over what people say. I want to see them live from the place of truth instead of believing a lie.
Because when you believe a lie, you empower the liar. And he comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. If you heard a word that’s not edification, encouragement, and building you up, it didn't come from the Father. Because He doesn’t have bad words to give you. He doesn’t have bad things to give you. There’s only one that gives bad things — it’s the thief, and his name is satan. But John 10:10 (NKJV) also quotes Jesus as saying, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
That abundant life is for you.
People say, “Well, I’m not experiencing an abundant life.” Well, maybe we just don’t believe the way that we need to believe. Maybe we’ve allowed the trial to become bigger than the One that’s in there with us. Maybe the fire is hotter than the love of God inside of us. Maybe we need to remember where we came from. Maybe we need to remember what God brought us out of, and the fact that He did bring us out of it. Because over time, it seems like we tend to think we brought ourselves out. We’re like, “No, I’m good. I’m maintaining.” And we think we do this life out of our own strength. No, no, no. Return. Return to the first love fire of Heaven. And remember what God brought you out of. And remember that He’s always for you and never against you.
There’s a fourth man in the fire. You may say it doesn’t feel like that. That’s why we don't live by feelings. If it’s impossible to please God without faith, as Hebrews 11:6 tells us, and the just shall live by faith, then we know faith precedes feelings. If feelings have to precede faith for you, you’re in big trouble. If your ducks have to be in a row for you to have a good time with Jesus, I’m warning you, satan is the manipulator of ducks. Because he’ll constantly move things and manipulate things to throw us for a loop so that we’re never ready, we’re too busy, and we’re too consumed with what’s going on in our own lives.
For instance, if you think to yourself, “I have to have my life in order for God to accept me and love me,” then you’ve got it way wrong. Jesus didn’t come for those who think they are righteous. He came for the sick. He didn’t come for the people that “have it all together.” He didn’t come for the people that have everything figured out. He didn’t come for the religious. The Law was a huge set of rules that were given that none of us can follow perfectly. The Law was a tutor to show us our need for a Savior. And when Jesus fulfilled the Law, He gave us two laws to walk out: love God with everything in me and love my neighbor as myself. That doesn’t mean break the other commandments. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two. Because when you walk out these two, all of them can be fulfilled.
Because of your union with the Father — because you’ve developed a relationship where you know how loved you are — all of a sudden, everyone you meet becomes your neighbor. You see people differently. It’s the beginning of an authentic Christian life of yieldedness and union to the Father who loves us and is head over heels for us.
And when you find out the Father is not a religious old man with a stick that wants to beat you for messing up, but you find out that He’s the very lover of your soul, who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that He could rescue you and save you from your sin — when you find that out — you’re like, “Whoa, I’m hanging with You!”
Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:15). The Kingdom means the dominion of the King. And you and I are earthly vessels that God wants to partner with as a father does with his children. It doesn't matter how amazing you are. It doesn’t matter if you can sing. It doesn’t matter if you can get on a platform and preach to people. What matters is that you can be love. Let’s return to our First Love today, and renew our love and faith in Jesus!
Refuse to let tribulation define you. Choose joy intentionally. Choose the love of God. Thank God for your testimony. Speak truth out loud over your life today — even if your feelings disagree.
Father, I refuse to give up. I refuse to let the enemy steal my joy. Teach me to fight the fight of faith. Strengthen me to hold fast to my confession without wavering. I choose joy in the middle of tribulation. I choose to run into Your arms, not away from You. Burn in me again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
In this fight of faith with you,
Todd White