Slavic Christian walk of faith
Dear Slavic Christian,
Whenever you face a challenge, spiritual trial, or hardship, satan uses it as an excuse to undermine your faith and God’s sovereignty.
He says, “Why would God allow you to go through _____? He doesn’t love you. He’s not worth worshipping. He’s not worth trusting. Walk away from Him, serve me, and live for yourself instead; that way, you control your own life, not God.”
One can believe these lies and give in to them, further leading to a life of distress. Or you can recognize that these negative messages are trying to derail you from your identity in Christ and choose to turn your eyes back to him.
You may ask, “How can I remember who I am in Christ in a crisis? It’s hard to trust that God indeed cares when my world feels like it’s falling apart.”
Stay with me. I want you to imagine the following image:
God says, “My dear child, even if you don’t understand my plans now, it’ll all make sense in the long run. Can you keep trusting me? Can you keep walking in my truth and accept my love? I am working all things together for your good; don’t focus on the storm around you; remember that I’m in the boat with you. I’m testing your faith; I’m testing your courage to lean on me when you’re afraid and don’t see a way out. Remember that I can calm the winds; you need only to be still.”
This is the only way to stay faithful in the trials meant to change, cleanse, and deepen our relationship with Him.
As a fellow human and believer, I know how excruciating and difficult it is to trust God when the circumstance feels hopeless. I know how hard it is to discern the truth from the lies. I know how painful it is to wait on the Lord while experiencing natural human emotions during “the storms.”
I also know that our God doesn’t expect perfection. He knows that we’re scared, that we doubt, and want to be in control. He knows that we want to figure things out on our own before reaching out for His hand to take us out of the pit, and the entire time, His grace is patiently waiting for us to do just that. His mercy is abundant and renews daily so we can again learn to trust Him.
He doesn’t judge you for any of the responses that you have. He understands because Christ Himself felt many of these emotions when He faced His trials of suffering at the hands of man when He was completely innocent, feeling the pain of His Father turning away from Him when he carried the weight of the world on His shoulders, and the moment when He gave up His spirit on the Cross and went into Hades to try to redeem souls that would further reject Him.
This is the God whose love you are worthy of. This is the God that abundantly overflows redemption, faithfulness, hope, and love. Are you willing to filter out the lies to walk in the truth of His love for you? Can you open your heart to let Him in instead of running from the greatest love you will ever know?