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TRUST JESUS TODAY

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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: FAITHFULNESS (10/07/21)
Two of my favorite parables in the Bible come from Matthew. They are chapters 8:23-27 and 14:26-33 both from the ESV version. Both parables take place on the water, far from land, and in a storm. In Matthew 8 Jesus is with his disciples. He is asleep in the boat. The disciples terrified wake him. They are in fear of their lives. Jesus responds, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” He rebukes the wind and sea he calms the storm and they are marveled saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

The second parable Peter walks on water. He is focused on Jesus. When Peter takes his eyes off Jesus, he begins to sink. He cries out for Jesus to save him and immediately Jesus reaches down and rescues him. Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you “doubt?” Jesus and Peter get in the boat and the wind ceased. Those in the boat worshiped him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” In the first parable they went from calling Jesus a man to the Son of God. They grew in their faith over time. Just as the apostles grew in their faith over time, so did I.

I have been in many valleys during my life. I’ve encountered divorce, loss of a business, bankruptcy, addiction, health, and death. Some of these circumstances were before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. A valley I spent considerable time in was the valley of lack of confidence. People want to help you escape this valley with comments like, “you can do it, this to shall pass.” I appreciate the thoughts and words, but the good feelings last as long as it takes to say them. They don’t stick.

When I accepted Jesus, I believed life was going to be grand. I missed John 16:33 where Jesus tells us we are going to have trouble. I knew the Lord was with me through trying times. That was cemented in my head but it wasn’t in my heart. What would it take to move that knowledge from my head to my heart?

It was important to accept adversity is a part of life. The question is how do I handle it? I can react with anger, self-pity, or confusion. Or respond by trusting God in the situation. In the valleys of life, we show our mettle. This is where God does his work molding us into the person he wants us to be. This molding takes time. It is important to know Jesus is with us. There have been times in those valleys, I was like Peter walking on water. I take my eyes off of Jesus and put the power on the situation. I sink, cry out for help, and Jesus reaches down and helps me.

I realized finding the time to be with the Lord was almost impossible. I had to make the time. I committed to the same time every day for my prayer and meditation.`Spending concentrated time in the the Word resulted in me looking at the world differently. My mind would still drift to the circumstances, and I would get frustrated. I would want to quit and I created excuses such as I’m running late, I’m not into it, or that’s good enough.

Staying committed to spend time with the Lord is not a task one can do alone. We have the Holy Spirit to counsel us, guide us, and go to the Father and pray for us. The Lord gave me another challenge that rocked me. I was asked to be an alternate facilitator for my bible study. My mind worked over time with this. Thoughts ran through my head such as “Are you kidding me you, you think you can do that?” I am happy to say I didn’t listen and stayed focus on the Lord and became an alternate facilitator.

The more time I spend with God the less the questions of why me and okay now what, would come up. I used my adversity to spur my faith into action. Surrendering to God, trusting in Him, and taking action boosted my confidence and built my faith. Jesus promised he would always be with me. Psalm 119:18 became my mantra “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law”(NIV). I see the wonderful things God has created.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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This article has been read 305 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Terry R A Eissfeldt 
10/15/21
Your life story is very compelling. And the content of this article is all valid and important.
If I can offer a bit of red ink:
It's just a bit all over the place.
What if you approached this as an essay:
Thesis statement, Introduction, Body, Conclusion?
And the Body contains 3 paragraphs with one story (example) to support your thesis statement?
Simply organizing your wonderful content would really elevate the impact

Blessings
Sue Botte 
10/17/21
I can relate to your story.

I agree to the sound advice above, still the message of commitment thus faithfully trusting God came through.

Thank you for your entry.

Keep writing.

Amy Swift
10/17/21
Awesome testimony! Thank you!
Our God is able!
Philippa Geaney
10/21/21
This is a wonderful testimony of day by day faithfulness. I liked the red ink advice- I'm going to use it too😂.
I hope you can fit more writing into your schedule-(after prayer and the Word) because this submission has a good ring about it. As if there is more to come.