God Will See You Through No Matter What Giants You Face

 Let’s start with a praise report! That baby we’ve prayed for had a checkup; the doctors had to look twice, her kidneys looked so much better. NO surgery or medicine needed. (note - this was an unspoken request earlier, I just kept it vague here as a praise report but mentioned a bit of what it was just to encourage readers.)

Have you ever seen “Facing the Giants”? There’s a football drill called the death crawl, where you carry a guy on your back. The scene is quite inspiring. It’s a great picture of how we should never give up no matter how hard walking with Jesus may feel. Praise reports like above help, but we don’t’ always see such victory in our own lives.

God will never leave us or forsake us.(Heb. 13:5) It can be tempting to stray if everyone else is doing wrong. But, that’s why it’s vital to remember God is personal. He’s that guy in our head always telling us to keep going, that we can make it.

Even Paul felt like quitting. The Spirit led him in that Roman prison, as he thought on his reward to share his anxiety. “To live is Christ, to die, gain.” (Phil. 1:21) Yet, he adds that he must remain on Earth for them. It was important for him to keep moving, praying, writing, etc.; and most believe he did get out and travel to some churches. They say it was a second capture that led him to write 2 Timothy, knowing his end was near.

 This applies in many areas. Take prayer – I closed the list with 2 verses, one about not giving up in prayer. It’s like “pray without ceasing” – it means always be in an attitude of being ready to let God guide you. God gave us a glimpse with how He healed Athena. Maybe it’s just what some of you needed - God’s timing isn’t our own, so some things we pray for take longer. Even then, parts might be answered and we don’t know it.

I had no idea when I began writing paragraphs 2-4 that I’d get a praise report Tuesday to fit perfectly as the first paragraph. At times I might start and then feel led to change directions and save it for next week. Either way, God has a perfect plan. Just because you have to change doesn’t mean you weren’t following His will. Maybe He’s teaching flexibility or letting us see spiritual warfare or something.

We talked about giving our time, talents, praise, etc. to God. You might say the one thing we should never give is “up.” 😊 There are times we’re led to pray differently, or the Lord shuts the door on one thing because He plans to open another. (Or, open a window, getting you where He wants by a different route.) But, that’s just praying, serving, etc. according to God’s will, and His plan for you might change over time. Some readers don’t go to church, but can still tithe. God may lead them to give any money to send kids to Camp CHOF, or tithe to Youthquake, for instance. Then one day they’ll find a church.

The point is, God’s plan takes time. It can involve lots of twists and turns. He will equip ou for His mission, though – just be ready, because we don’t always know what He’s getting us ready for; it could be quite far away.

The safest place is the center of His will. His will always matches the Bible in doctrine (salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, sharing the Gospel, being good, etc.) If it’s not a matter of that basic doctrine we learned, He might have different plans for each person. So, like we said about masks, always treat others with Christlike love. We don’t know what others have gone through. Like Jesus told Peter (John 21), He might have a very different plan for one person than another. He wants us all to share His salvation with a lost and dying world, though. And, we are to be known by our love for others.(John 13:35)