FAITH TO WITHSTAND THE BATTLE

Let me tell you how and where Paul produced his epistles. He wrote them in dark prison cells. He wrote them after being scourged or having survived another shipwreck. He was intimately familiar with hardship and suffering.

Paul knew that all of the truth and revelation he taught came from the battlefield of faith, and he rejoiced in his afflictions for the gospel’s sake. He could say: “Now I can preach with all authority to every prisoner who’s been locked up with no hope, to everybody who has ever looked death in the face. God’s Spirit is making me a tested veteran so I can speak his truth to everyone who has ears to hear.”

If you’re going through hardship, Yehovah Elohim - God hasn’t turned you over to the power of Satan. No, he’s allowing your trial because His Spirit is performing an unseen work in you, the Messiah Jesus’ character is being formed in you for all eternity. You’ll never get true spirituality from anywhere else. If you’re going to taste Yehovah’s glory, it’s going to come to you right where you are in your present circumstances, pleasant or unpleasant.

I believe one of the great secrets of Paul’s spirituality was his readiness to accept whatever condition he was in without complaining. He writes, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through the Messiah who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13, NKJV).

Paul is saying, “I don’t try to protect myself from my unpleasant circumstances. I don’t beg God for relief from them. On the contrary, I embrace them. I know from my history with Yehovah that He’s doing something eternal in me.”

Our part in every trial is to trust Yehovah Elohim - God for all the power and resources we need to find enduring peace of mind in the midst of our suffering. It simply means we no longer try to protect ourselves from them. We stay put relying upon Yehovah's indwelling presence to be able to endure whatever is handed to us because we know our God and Father Yehovah is conforming us to the image of His Son.

Written By David Wilkerson (1931-2011) and edited by Bruce Lyon