Proverbs 24:10 “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”
Have you ever heard this phrase: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”? The meaning of this phrase is said to emphasize that when there are problems, strong people work hard to solve or overcome them.
With that being said, what is something that you have done or tried to accomplish, but part of the way through you ran into some kind of obstruction or problem that complicated it?
I’ll tell you a personal story. One time I had to take a carburator off of a small engine because it wasn’t working properly. After separating the carburator from the engine, I completely took it apart and cleaned it out. Then came the time for me to put it back onto the engine. Now I will tell you right now that I can take most things apart relatively easily, but it is the putting things back together that I sometimes struggle with, and it happened with this small engine. For some reason I could not get two of the screws back into place. For over an hour I struggled to fit my screwdriver into a position to where I could put everything back together once again. Just two screws left and I was done! But for an hour I couldn’t do it. Eventually I did finally get them back in, but I never would have gotten them done if I hadn’t pushed through that difficult moment.
We will go through many trials, temptations, and persecutions as a child of God. Stumbling blocks, if you will, that the devil will try to toss in our path to try to bring us down. That is what the devil will do, try to cause as much pain and hardships as he can to try to dissuade people from believing in Jesus.
1 Peter 5:6-10 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
Many times Paul had to endure suffering at the hands of others. Paul was stoned, he was beaten with rods, thrown into prison. But through all of these difficult times, how many times did he lose his faith in Christ? None. Someone named Alexander the coppersmith did much evil towards Paul, but through all of these things that he had to endure, he persevered. He never let himself become weak in the faith.
2 Timothy 4:14-18 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
We need to be like a young tree in a storm, which when the heavy winds blow that tree ight sway back and forth but it never breaks. It doesn’t fall down, but weather’s that storm.
Be strong in your faith. Don’t let anything or anyone break you down and weaken your faith. Set your faith and found it on the Rock. In Christ.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 