Overcome Challenges with Faith in God
ICS Daily Devotions
Hebrews 11:1,6 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The challenges we face in life can take the form of a trial, test, or tribulation. We need to distinguish between them and know how to handle each, but one common factor is that we must respond in faith to all of them.
You might wonder how you can tell whether it is a trial, tribulation, or test. The only person who knows is you, because every Christian is supposed to live a consecrated and sanctified life. No one else knows whether we are living a consecrated and sanctified life except ourselves and God.
Tribulation is thlipsis in the original Bible text. It means to crush, press together, squash, hem in, compress, or squeeze. It is a strong term that does not refer to minor inconveniences but real hardships.
We need to understand that God is not the source of our tribulation, nor will He bring persecution upon believers. Instead, it is the devil who uses various ways to steal the Word from us. His main goal is to make you let go of the Word you have just been taught or are excited about! He doesn’t want you to develop any conviction or faith in the Word of God! His way is to throw tribulation into your life to make you offended by God and steal His Word from your heart. He wants you to believe in his lies and distorted view of God, and make your life miserable. It is the Word of God that will help you to resist, take authority, and defeat the devil. Therefore, you need to know the Word and use it appropriately to exercise your faith in God.
We learnt from the opening passage that the way to please God is through faith. It is simply believing in God. Faith is established when the Word of God is spoken, and we take God’s Word for it. God and His Word are one. He backs up every Word that He has spoken and watches over it to perform it in our lives. We can take God’s Word for it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and faith will continue to grow when we listen to His Word.
Sermon Series：We Need to Have Simple Faith
