I want to share with you today as a friend and a pastor. I pray for the Spirit of our Living God to minister this encouragement to you.
You and I both know that each day holds its victories, celebrations, trials, tests, and even tribulations. At times, it seems like, day after day, certain difficulties continue to irritate us and vie for our attention, energies, and resources. Most of us refer to these times of struggles as seasons.
Being prepared for such a season is much like a farmer preparing for winter. He stores up a resource to carry him through the season when there is no harvest. Our minds also reflect upon the story of Joseph leading Egypt in preparation for their time of famine.
There are four things that you must begin to activate in your life now that will build up your resource of faith to get you through the difficult seasons in life and ministry. Should you feel that you are presently ‘smack-dab’ in the middle of a challenging season, then use these four points to strengthen yourself today.
TOLD – Trust, Obey, Love, Decisiveness
You are Christ’s! You belong to Him! You are the ‘Apple of His Eye!’ Can you not TRUST HIM? Of course you can! Though a flood of doubts swell up around you, you can TRUST your Savior! You can TRUST your First Love! Trust is an act of your will. Trust is an overflow of the knowledge that He has your best interests in heart. Trust is a foundational part of your faith and victory.
OBEY HIM! Remember to OBEY your Lord in ALL THINGS! Do you recall the account of the prophet telling King Saul that it is better to obey than to sacrifice? Obedience, to begin with, is far better than repentance after the fact. Yet, so many times we find ourselves experiencing problems that would have been COMPLETELY AVOIDED if we would have simply OBEYED to begin with. OBEY HIM now! OBEYING now will prevent many unnecessary issues later.
Your obedience is, in reality, a manifestation of your LOVE. Have you ever heard the joke about the husband telling his wife ‘Of course I love you. If anything would have changed I would have let you know.’? The simple absurdity of never expressing love to a spouse is what makes the joke funny. Still, when was the last time you wholeheartedly expressed your LOVE to Christ? LOVE HIM with ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength!
Your LOVE is expressed through your TRUST and OBEDIENCE. When you DECIDE to TRUST and OBEY, never second guess yourself! BE DECISIVE! This is what Jesus was saying in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:37 when He said, “Let your Yes be simply Yes, and your No be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one.” (AMP) The Spirit of God also reminds me of the truth that “a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways.” Your DECISIVENESS is a powerful sign to those around you that your life is in Christ. Being DECISIVE demonstrates your Trust, Obedience, and Love for your Savior. Realize that BEING DECISIVE will nip many problems in the bud and never allow them to bloom or bear fruit in your life.
Remember that you have victory! You were TOLD so! TOLD – Trust, Obey, Love, and Decisiveness
Gary R. Linn