Keep Faith
How do you do it? How do you wake up everyday thinking that today will be a better day? How do you keep faith? How do you keep on hoping that things will be alright? How do you climb out of that hole you fell into?
Now, everybody just finished trials. For those who did well, congratulations! For those you didn’t do that well, well, I know how you feel. You feel desolated. Like just giving up hope. You think that after you gave that much into it, after you study that much, you thought you had a chance but the results proved otherwise. Then you think again, what’s the use fighting when you always lose? Why do I keep on fighting? What am I fighting for?
That’s exactly how I felt. Last Saturday, I was preparing what I was going to share today. I had a whole to-do list written on Friday. Tons and tons of things, alpha, economics, mathematics, dance club, moral studies assignment. I was like, okay, I have the whole Saturday tomorrow. I can do this.
But Saturday came. And it was like one of those days where you really feel like doing nothing. Zilt zero. Ele. Nothing at all. You just wanna lay down on that bed and do nothing. It’s that kind of desolated depression. I know we all felt that at least once in our life where all hope just dissipated.
But I was driving, sending my sister back home and thinking what one earth am I gonna share today and whether should I attend youth with everything on my plate. Then things start to come to me. I knew then, that God was helping me. He was popping up scriptures into my head. Promises He had made and was gonna fulfill it. So I sat down on the computer and started typing. Everything in my hearts, I just poured it out. And this is what I got.
The topic for today is: How do you keep faith?
1) By God’s strength
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NLT)
Who is going to Easter rally put your hands up? Now, we all know what Easter celebration is about right? It’s about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We all know on that third day, He rose up, went to see his disciples with hole in his wrist and scars on his forehead.
What is the significance of this event? Death is defeated! Now, I want you to just think, the worst thing that can ever happen to your life. Now compare it with death. What is worse? Can anything be worse than death? To know that that person is gone. To know you are gone and you can never come back to Earth. Aint that just depressing. So if death is defeated. What else can bring us down?
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31 ESV)
So if God can defeat death, and He is for us, what else do we fear? Exam? Scholarship? Family problems? Social problems? Peer pressure? Do you really think the same God that died and rose against three days after, cannot solve your problems?
Through his strength we can do anything. Only through Him, we can have that strength to go on. Not by ourselves but through His strength. Pray! Ask Him to help you. Ask Jesus to give you strength. Ask and you shall receive. He loves you. He wants you to do well. Sure, things aren’t looking very pretty now, but ask Him to give you strength to work harder, to be a better person.
28 Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I wont lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11 MSG)
So how do keep faith? By God’s strength. Put your faith in Him. Ask Him to help you, with your homework, assignment and you will see how easy things will become when you trust in His strength. Cried out to God and say “I believe in You, Lord but help me overcome my unbelief”.
But when I say with God’s strength, I do not mean that all you have to do is just lay down there and do nothing. It means you do things, continue fighting but this time, fight with a renewed strength. Fight with God’s strength. Amen?
2) Rely on God’s promises
Keep scriptures. Keep his promises by you side. Write it somewhere, in your phone, on your notepad, on your book, iPad, iPod Touch, iPod, your computer, anywhere and everywhere. So that whenever you feel down and feel as if the whole world has given up on you. Read those promises. Read those scriptures and know that no matter what happened, no matter the world does or says, no matter you have done, He will never ever abandon you.
There are many promises that you can keep. My personal favourite is:
I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG)
There are many promises like this in the bible. Take these promises and everytime you see the word ‘you’, replaced it with your name. Keep in your mind that He promises these things to you. Claim it! Own it!
Read the bible. Find something that speaks to you. There is everything in there. Heck, there is even one whole book for married couple; the grapes in a vineyard thing. Worse come to worse, go to Mr. Denis and ask him to make you memorize one like he always does with his students. So, do your devotion, find that scripture, memorize it if you can but if you cant, then bring it everywhere you go. And everytime you are down just read His words and know that He knows what you are going through and he is there.
Now, everybody just finished trials. For those who did well, congratulations! For those you didn’t do that well, well, I know how you feel. You feel desolated. Like just giving up hope. You think that after you gave that much into it, after you study that much, you thought you had a chance but the results proved otherwise. Then you think again, what’s the use fighting when you always lose? Why do I keep on fighting? What am I fighting for?
That’s exactly how I felt. Last Saturday, I was preparing what I was going to share today. I had a whole to-do list written on Friday. Tons and tons of things, alpha, economics, mathematics, dance club, moral studies assignment. I was like, okay, I have the whole Saturday tomorrow. I can do this.
But Saturday came. And it was like one of those days where you really feel like doing nothing. Zilt zero. Ele. Nothing at all. You just wanna lay down on that bed and do nothing. It’s that kind of desolated depression. I know we all felt that at least once in our life where all hope just dissipated.
But I was driving, sending my sister back home and thinking what one earth am I gonna share today and whether should I attend youth with everything on my plate. Then things start to come to me. I knew then, that God was helping me. He was popping up scriptures into my head. Promises He had made and was gonna fulfill it. So I sat down on the computer and started typing. Everything in my hearts, I just poured it out. And this is what I got.
The topic for today is: How do you keep faith?
1) By God’s strength
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NLT)
Who is going to Easter rally put your hands up? Now, we all know what Easter celebration is about right? It’s about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We all know on that third day, He rose up, went to see his disciples with hole in his wrist and scars on his forehead.
What is the significance of this event? Death is defeated! Now, I want you to just think, the worst thing that can ever happen to your life. Now compare it with death. What is worse? Can anything be worse than death? To know that that person is gone. To know you are gone and you can never come back to Earth. Aint that just depressing. So if death is defeated. What else can bring us down?
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31 ESV)
So if God can defeat death, and He is for us, what else do we fear? Exam? Scholarship? Family problems? Social problems? Peer pressure? Do you really think the same God that died and rose against three days after, cannot solve your problems?
Through his strength we can do anything. Only through Him, we can have that strength to go on. Not by ourselves but through His strength. Pray! Ask Him to help you. Ask Jesus to give you strength. Ask and you shall receive. He loves you. He wants you to do well. Sure, things aren’t looking very pretty now, but ask Him to give you strength to work harder, to be a better person.
28 Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I wont lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11 MSG)
So how do keep faith? By God’s strength. Put your faith in Him. Ask Him to help you, with your homework, assignment and you will see how easy things will become when you trust in His strength. Cried out to God and say “I believe in You, Lord but help me overcome my unbelief”.
But when I say with God’s strength, I do not mean that all you have to do is just lay down there and do nothing. It means you do things, continue fighting but this time, fight with a renewed strength. Fight with God’s strength. Amen?
2) Rely on God’s promises
Keep scriptures. Keep his promises by you side. Write it somewhere, in your phone, on your notepad, on your book, iPad, iPod Touch, iPod, your computer, anywhere and everywhere. So that whenever you feel down and feel as if the whole world has given up on you. Read those promises. Read those scriptures and know that no matter what happened, no matter the world does or says, no matter you have done, He will never ever abandon you.
There are many promises that you can keep. My personal favourite is:
I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG)
There are many promises like this in the bible. Take these promises and everytime you see the word ‘you’, replaced it with your name. Keep in your mind that He promises these things to you. Claim it! Own it!
Read the bible. Find something that speaks to you. There is everything in there. Heck, there is even one whole book for married couple; the grapes in a vineyard thing. Worse come to worse, go to Mr. Denis and ask him to make you memorize one like he always does with his students. So, do your devotion, find that scripture, memorize it if you can but if you cant, then bring it everywhere you go. And everytime you are down just read His words and know that He knows what you are going through and he is there.
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