We all struggle occasionally with our faith in God. When times are good, and you do not have many worries in your life, it can be easy for our faith to seem strong. Then, when troubles strike, our faith can take a massive blow as we ask God, “Why has this happened to me?”
Have Faith
Maybe a major health problem has suddenly affected us, or we have lost someone who was very near to us. Something has happened in our lives to cause us much pain and suffering. This is when our faith in God and His goodness will come into question.
When our lives appear blessed, we may fool ourselves into thinking our faith is strong. But is it? In this book, I aim to show that our faith primarily gets tested during times of trouble or persecution. Or when our lives depend on how we react to certain people or circumstances. This is the litmus test for our faith. Will we continue to trust God, regardless of what the world throws at us? Or are we going to give in and conform to the ways of the world just for the sake of a peaceful life?
We can see instances today of people being pressured into doing things they are not comfortable in doing. The COVID-19 vaccination is one point to consider. How many people have had this injection for the sake of keeping their jobs, for keeping the peace within their families, or for the many other reasons they feel they need to have the injection?
The same principles apply to our faith. Will you follow the teachings of the holy scriptures? Or will you follow man-made traditions even if they distort the plain meanings of the Bible? Being pressured into believing something will test your faith. Either you will withstand these pressures, or you will cave in to the wishes of other people because of a weak faith.
The Faith of Christ
It is vital for our salvation to have faith in Jesus Christ that He is our Lord of Lords and King of Kings, as the following scriptures show us.
Heb_11:6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
Here we see that faith is vital if you want a relationship with God. This is further emphasised in the following scripture.
Rom 1:17 (NIV) For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
We can see from the above scriptures just how important faith is in the life of a Christian. It is essential. Without faith, no-one can truly identify themselves as a Christian or claim to be saved.