“He is More than Enough”

When the Apostle Peter wrote his first letter things were changing for the first century Christians. As the Lord’s churches increased in number and appeared in more and more places, the restrictions and control of the government increased. Peter was writing to a people who were finding it increasingly difficult to live by faith. He re- minded them that the deep trials they were experiencing were only for a season and that, the testing of their faith was more precious than gold as it would bring great glory to Christ at his appearing. We, as Bible believing Christians find ourselves in uncharted waters in this present day. Yet, the Bible teaches and even secular history affirms that we are not the first generation to experience such upheaval and the uncertainties which follow, as every form of evil has always existed in the world. The adversary has afflicted God’s children all throughout the ages, just as corrupt governments and rulers have existed in every generation. That said, Christ’s followers cannot expect better treatment in the world than their Master had. In view of this, we must take particular care not to wander or stray from the Word of God but take great comfort in the knowledge of its incontestable authority and sovereignty. As Christians, we understand that though we live in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. We do not live as those who do not know Christ. Those who have true faith live by that same faith. We need to be rooted and grounded in faith. Moreover, as we go through our lives our faith will grow and must continue to grow. There are many ways in which the Lord causes our faith to grow. One way is found in the very definition of life itself; Living things must grow. Because of that Life which is within us we are alive in Christ. Consequently, since we are connected to the Vine, we grow and produce fruit. Actually, we who are saved prove we are part of that Vine by our growth. No growth-(like so many of my plants I have attempted to “nurture” throughout my pathetic attempts at gardening-so much so my good husband has often referred to my garden as “death row”) no life.

Secondly, our faith grows as we exercise it. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” II Cor. 5:7 (Walking is exercise, right?) Through our experiences we learn that it is far better to exert our faith by immediately casting each care upon God, than to bear them in our own hearts, where they do nothing but create stress, doubt, heartache and anguish. To exercise our faith by choosing always to believe God is able, to rely on his grace in any situation, to trust he is always in control and that the outcome will be the best if it is according to his will, well, who can say it better: “And Jesus answering saith unto them, ‘Have faith in God”, Mark 11:22. Moreover, another way in which our faith grows is when we see God answer our prayers! Specifically those secret utterings of our hearts we have never made known to another soul. This increases our faith as we look at those prayers and think, “This prayer was just between me and my Lord and he answered me directly. Praise the Lord!” This increases our faith and draws us nearer to the Lord, which compels us to walk so discreetly and so righteously as to bring him great glory in all things. For what in this world is worth more than knowing we are right with God and that we can immediately bring a request to him with such confidence as to know he hears and he will bring about the very best outcome? Yet, another way in which our faith puts down deep roots is when the ground beneath our feet turns to shifting sand. How ironic that we could grow strong roots in shifting sand! No structure or plant on earth could do such a thing! But this is just one of the marvelous workings of God in our lives. His supernatural power transcends the boundaries of this universe. Consider those things which seem to be paradoxes in the Christian life. Mysteries of the faith, such as: When I am weak-then am I strong. Lose your life and you will find it. Become poor to become rich. Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Crucified with Christ, yet we live. There are times when we find ourselves in one of the great struggles of life, when the familiar foundation beneath us no longer supports our steps, and no earthly thing or person can put things right for us as we agree with David when he said,”… vain is the help of man.” In my own life there have been such times when I poured out my heart to those whom I considered to be seasoned Christians. But their counsel was insufficient and feeble! I was stunned by that! However, it was then I came to the realization that, “You know what Liz? It’s just you and the Lord now-will you trust Him?” For no one else understood-no one else was capable to give me what I needed. I found then, that the Lord can support and strengthen us even when there is no earthly thing upon which to stand, and establish in us the roots of faith-which can seem non-existent at such times- driving them down deep into our souls. Amen. So yes, our faith grows in a number of ways and more than listed above. But now, let’s consider some evidences found in one who is growing in faith.

First of all when someone is growing in faith the Lord will be glorified. Once when Jesus and his disciples were crossing the sea of Tiberius a great storm arose. So much so, the waves were thrown over the ship by fierce winds. The poor little ship, can you picture it being tossed and thrown about? The disciples were terrified and Jesus rebuked them for that. “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” After that, he rebuked the winds, and then he rebuked the sea-and there was great calm. Quite a bit of rebuking going on but not without the intended results. First of all, the disciples were astonished at the Lord! “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” So God was glorified. Then, as is usual for all of God’s creation with the exception of mankind, the winds and sea immediately obeyed their Master. And he was glorified once more. Another of the sure signs of the saints growing in faith is their increasing resemblance to their Lord. For the more yielded we are in submission to his will for our lives, the more Christ like we become. Also, in the process, the Lord becomes more treasured and precious to the saints, which leads us to such fervency in serving him. For what would we not do for the One who has given everything for us? Each endeavor-whether great or small, becomes a privilege rather than a burden or a bother. And time does not permit me to continue with this thought of service at present, but I would also challenge us to also consider our service for Christ when it comes to the quality of that service… In closing, there is one thing more that defines the child of God who is maturing in the faith and that is our noticeable love for and closeness with the brethren. Ah yes, we could not omit that, for it is true evidence of the life that is within us. For the Apostle Paul, when writing for the second time to the Thessalonians praised them in chapter one verse three, stating, “…your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth.” Strong’s says it means to “super abound”. Those people were over the moon about each other! Do you see how marvelous this is? When our faith is exercised, the whole life is affected for good. Others are influenced for good because of our testimony. The Lord is glorified. The church is strengthened and benefitted because there are those who are growing in their faith and as a result, are useful in all areas of service. To our shame-well, let me rephrase that as I shouldn’t indict you. Let me speak for myself: to my eternal shame, there have been far too many times when my faith has been feeble. When I felt the Lord was far from me and far from helping me. But I’ve learned nothing could be farther from the truth. He is more than enough. Over ruling the winds and waves in my own heart and proving time and time again, “He only is my rock and my salvation…I shall not be greatly moved.” Ps. 62:2

Thank you so much for reading! – Liz