ICS Daily Devotions
Keep on Keeping on
Luke 6:46-49 (NKJV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
The term “strawberry generation” refers to a generation which cannot withstand hardship because they are so well-protected and sheltered by their parents that they are easily bruised and spoilt just like strawberries. But do you know that there are Christians who behave just like the “strawberries generation” regardless of their age? During a time of adversity, they easily give up on their walk with the Lord due to a lack of resilience in their faith.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from a terrible experience in life and it is God’s grace which enables us to stand strong during the ordeal. Resilience has not been more needed than during the current unprecedented times.
The Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon. We don’t need to run the fastest because our goal is to finish the race. Unfortunately, some have dropped off from the race because their faith was not conditioned for it. The devil will not hesitate to throw us adversities, tribulations, trials, persecutions, and other setbacks to make us give up. These may hit us hard and knock us down, making us feel discouraged, disappointed, frustrated, and too exhausted to continue. We may also question God’s presence and His lack of intervention. However, we need to know that He is speaking if we would only tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, helper and counsellor, especially during times of adversity. He will draw out Scriptures from the foundation that we have laid. It takes perseverance and resilience to fight the good fight of faith so we can cross the finishing line where we meet the Lord face to face.
For those of us who have done long-distance running, there are times when we feel we just can’t go on and want to quit. Similarly, we are tempted to quit and forgo the Christian walk when the going gets tough in life. Therefore, just like training for a marathon, in our faith walk, we need to develop the resilience to soldier on despite the intensity of our trials and tribulations. God never promised us a bed of roses when we accepted Christ, but He did promise us that His grace would be sufficient for us because His strength is fully manifested in our weakness.
Sermon Series: Resilience
