When We Can’t See the Road in Front of Us, How Do We Press Forward?

A couple of years ago, I was at a missions conference where we came together to discuss what was happening in the missions world around the globe. One of my friends there asked me, “How are things going at Gospel for Asia? What’s going on these days?” We were going through some challenging situations on the field at the time, and I remember telling him, “It’s a good time to be alive. It’s a good opportunity to walk by faith.” Which was completely true!

We don’t always have great opportunities in front of us where we get to walk by faith, trusting God day by day, but trials and difficulties allow us those opportunities.

In the first chapter of James we are told, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

In his letter, James is talking to brothers and sisters who were going through more trials, temptations and difficulties than most of us will ever experience. Right off the bat, he tells them to consider all those things as joy and to see the purposes of God in all they were going through, whether good or bad.

We don’t always know what is going to happen tomorrow. We plan things out, we have ideas, we see all the lists on our calendars that we know we need to get to, but we don’t actually know what God is going to bring us through tomorrow. It is only when you look back on your life, even from just last week or last month, that you can see God’s faithfulness in leading you. We get to be a little like the disciples as they walked with Christ, not knowing where He was leading them day by day. In the same way, we are given opportunities once in a while in our own lives to experience what it means to trust God and walk by faith.


When we can’t see the road in front of us, how do we press forward? Is it by guessing what’s going to happen tomorrow or by the assurance of what God has already brought us through? You see everything that we go through in our personal lives, or as a family, or in marriage or in our jobs can build our faith. There is no other way for me or for you to grow in spiritual maturity apart from God allowing things in our lives! And through it all, there’s always hope because He’s right there with us.

God is so faithful to us during these times. He doesn’t just throw something into our path and say, “Good luck.” That would be completely opposite of His nature. Rather, He gives us His Word to keep our hearts full of faith; He gives us the Holy Spirit to remind us to look at Christ and to empower us; He gives us others to be an encouragement to us; He gives us music to lift our spirits; He gives us nature to reveal His glory. He says to us, “Let Me walk with you through this.” In fact, Jesus has already walked ahead of us through everything, so now He can walk alongside us and help us through.

Whatever we are going through, James tells us, “Listen, when you face something in your life, even if you don’t feel like it, the proper response is to count it all joy.”

Earlier in scripture, Paul encourages us to, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (see 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

In Philippians, Paul instructs the believers to, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” This is what our first response should always be. He goes on to say, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (see Philippians 4:4-7).

Our proper response in any situation is to rejoice. No matter what we are facing, we can say “Lord, I thank you for whatever You’re doing.” We bring the situation to God in prayer and leave it with Him. How do we do that? It’s a choice we make, and if we sometimes find that we have to make that choice 50 times a day then we need to do it 50 times a day. Bringing the same thing back to the Lord over and over and over again doesn’t mean you’re failing, it means you’re drawing closer to the Lord 50 times more than before.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Do I Need to Know about the Global Poverty Rate?

Image
Statisticians are getting better at measuring the global poverty rate every year. The World Bank is one group working hard to accurately measure it so that the extent of the problem is fully known and so that progress can be measured. [1] Through governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we can more clearly see the last decade of progress and the most recent effects driving poverty rates. Sub-Saharan Africa has been one area difficult to measure, but new data shows an overall reduction in the percentage of those in poverty. Unfortunately, there is an increase in total number of people living at or below the official poverty rate of $1.90 per day. [2] That doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. With good statistics and a clear view of the problem, countries and organizations can use the proven methods to regain any ground lost. Additionally, valuable lessons have been learned about how to protect the most vulnerable and how to prevent some of the worst effects. GFA World is un...
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e...
Read more

Generational Poverty: A Cycle Not Worth Repeating

Image
The cycle of generational poverty can seem impossible to break. Children inherit what their parents teach and show them. a joint report from Ascend: The Aspen Institute and Bernard van Leer Foundation affirms this. “What young children learn from the adults who raise and care for them lays the foundation for future social, emotional, language, and cognitive growth,” the report says. 1 Children raised in a generational poverty mindset often lack the tools they need to succeed or achieve a better life than that of their parents. As adults, these individuals often then raise their children in poverty similar to that of their own childhoods, and the cycle perpetuates. It’s a cycle not worth repeating, yet it does time and time again. For the 736 million people worldwide living below the poverty line, earning $1.90 a day or less, the focus is frequently on mere survival. 2 Children are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, says UNICEF, as “children who grow up impoverished often...
Read more