Life is full of change. Friends, seasons, appearances, tastes, and opinions all come and go. Yet there’s one thing in life that doesn’t change with them: Jesus’ love for you. When the unsteadiness of life challenges your faith, find rest in the constant, unconditional love of Christ, and don’t lose your faith, because He’ll never leave your side.
How do I show my love for God during hard times?
It’s easy to praise God when life’s going well. It’s easy to thank Him for the money in your bank account, the car in your driveway, or the good health report from the doctor. But what about when you lose your job, wreck your car, or get a bad health report? Will your love and thankfulness for God continue? Or will it stop when the good things in life do?
How you respond here is how your faith will grow or weaken. Showing your love for God despite the pain is an act of faith, an act of building spiritual character. It means that you trust God, trust His Word, and trust that He’s using your situation for something good, even if you don’t know what it could be.
Living up to Christ’s commandments
Christ calls you to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. In fact, this is the greatest commandment[1] of them all. Notice that the commandment isn’t to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind only when you feel like it. No, you should pursue God regardless of how much money is in your bank account or what your health report says. When circumstances test your faith, run toward God, not away from Him, because the pursuit, not the backing down, strengthens your faith.
Everything Jesus did during His time on earth revolved around this commandment and the second greatest one, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. He served the poor, healed the downcast, and forgave the broken in spirit. In doing these incredible acts of healing and grace, He brought glory to God the Father by upholding the first commandment.
In this pursuit of God and His commandments, remember that God is love. It’s not just a part of Him or something He does. It’s what He is (1 John 4:8 NIV). If you’ve made mistakes, know that they don’t define you. The blood of Christ defines you, because through it, you were redeemed out of a world of death and violence and into a fellowship with God, where death has no power.
When you feel as if you’ve hit bottom
“To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit” (Jonah 2:6 NIV).
You can learn a lesson from Jonah, the Old Testament patriarch known for running from God. Even at your lowest point, God is with you, and He’s active in your life. The power of God is with you, drawing you out of the pit just as it drew Jonah out of it.
Coming out of the pit
One thing you must do first is repent from running from God, just as Jonah did. God is calling you to obey His commands, calling you to be in union with Him again. When it feels as if the darkness of the pit is closing in around you, remember the Bible calls believers to persevere and to take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33 NIV).
You have an advocate fighting for you in heaven, the same advocate who died for you and resurrected to show the world that death is not the end.
For more information
If you’re in a pit, don’t lose faith. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and know that God is with you always. Contact us today at 1-877-711-5214 to get started with free online Bible lessons that can enrich your life and your relationship with Christ.
Comments