Will We Still Believe?

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Saturday afternoon in my Sweet Home Alabama! :)

Last Sunday night, the Haslam crew watched the movie "I Still Believe." If you want to go ahead and shut down your electronic device now and go watch the movie, you will probably learn far more than you will glean from this Happy Friday. :) For those of you who choose to stay with me - and there is a spoiler alert here! - the movie is about Christian music singer/songwriter Jeremy Camp, his first wife, Melissa Lynn Henning Camp, her battle with cancer and their journey together.

Melissa was a woman of great, remarkable faith. Through disappointments and ultimately death, she continually sought God and believed He would use her for His great purposes as He painted a galaxy of beautiful stars - including her own. When she learned that her cancer was terminal her purpose crystallized - to positively impact at least one life for God. Through all the ups - at one point she was miraculously healed and declared cancer-free - and downs - repeated battles with cancer, hair loss, etc. - Melissa's faith never wavered. And I stand in awe of her still....

Before diving into this a little deeper, I have to mention that Jeremy demonstrated what a true Tender Warrior looks like. He walked every single step of the journey with Melissa. As his Dad tells him in one seen in the movie, "you willingly walked into the fire with your wife." That's what husbands and fathers are called to do...to walk into the fires of life with our wives and children. I aspire every day to be that husband, that father.

I have thought so much about this movie this week. There are two really poignant scenes in the movie.
1. Near the end Melissa is in her hospital bed and she asks Jeremy to sing her a song he just completed. As he sings to her she raises her weak hands in praise - despite the tubes, despite the hospital bed, despite being nearly too weak to raise her arms. Something inside me hopes that I would have that kind of faith if I am called to walk the path Melissa walked.

2. After Melissa has passed away, Jeremy is talking to his Dad. Basically he asks his Dad why God allows things to happen like Melissa's death, pointing out that he had begged God not to let her die. Ever been there, Friend? Where you beg God to do something and He doesn't? We all have. His Dad, while acknowledging the disappointment of the things that Jeremy pointed out to him, including Melissa's death, said this; "I don't have great joy in spite of my disappointments but because of them." Wow...

As I was typing this, I think I figured it out. I knew what I wanted to write about this week - continuing to believe, to walk by faith - however, I honestly didn't know why or specifically what I was going to say. When I was sharing the part about Melissa raising her arms in praise in her hospital bed it came to me - it is because I hope I will have that kind of faith no matter my situation or circumstance in life. We all like to say what we would do, how we would react or what we would say if we were in a particular situation however the reality is, none of us really know how we will respond until we are in the situation. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy...actually playing the game is hard.  Second-guessing other lives is easy...actually living ours is hard. 

As I type this, knowing where I want to go and who I want to be, I think there are two keys; 1) determining in our hearts and minds who we are going to put our faith in, regardless of the situation, circumstance, etc. and 2) learning and preparing ourselves as much as we can for the battles that are sure to come to each and every one of us in this life. I determined many, many years ago who I am going to put my faith in - God. It is now time to do some learning...

I am going to share some excerpts from a couple of articles and I will close with several quotes. The first excerpts I want to share comes from How to Fight for Faith in the Dark: Three Lessons for Depression. It was written by Stephen Altrogge on April 19, 2017. You can find the full blog at desiringgod.org.

"Remember, faith is not a feeling. Faith is simply believing that God will do what he said, even when it doesn't feel like it. I can guarantee that when you're depressed, it won't feel like God is faithful. But that feeling simply is not true. Don't believe it.

John Calvin, a pastor acutely sensitive to the imperfect feeling of our faith, says that true faith "clings so fast to the inmost parts that, however it seems to be shaken or to bend this way or that, its light is never so extinguished or snuffed out that it does not at least lurk as it were beneath the ashes." Like David prays in Psalm 139: 11 - 12, our faith may often slip away from sight, but it does not slip away from God who gave it in the first place.

Separate your feelings from truth."

The second excerpts I want to share come from an article titled, How Do We fight The Good Fight Of Faith? (Follow These Steps) It was written by Mark Altrogge on May 7, 2019 and the entire article can be found at theblazingcenter.com.

Fight Through Trials
"Not only do we have an enemy to fight, but we must fight the good fight of faith, because in his sovereignty, wisdom and love, the Lord takes us through many hard things to conform us to the likeness of his Son. Jesus told his disciples:
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

We WILL have tribulation. Trouble. Believers suffer in all kinds of ways. Believers will be persecuted in various ways. We will be sinned against by both unbelievers and believers.

We will love and receive hatred in return. We will be accused of things unjustly. We will be misunderstood. We will get sick. We will be rejected, even at times by those we love.

And in these times of suffering we have to fight. We have to fight, especially hold fast to our Lord in faith. We have to fight to believe his word. We have to fight not to believe the lies of the enemy."

Fight For Joy and Peace
"We have to fight to have joy and peace. We have to fight to trust the Lord. We have to fight to keep going. We have to fight to love our enemies, to do good to those who abuse us, to bless those who curse us. We have to fight not to grow cold in our love for Jesus."

We Must Be Strong In the Lord (Ephesians 6:10)
"We can't fight the good fight on our own. We just aren't strong enough. We need the Lord's strength. We need his might. We need to depend on Jesus 24 hours a day, calling out to him, asking him to help us, asking him for strength.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5: 6 - 7

It's humbling to admit that we are weak, that we need help. But that's exactly what God tells us to do. He says don't try to fight this fight on your own; cast your cares and anxieties on the Lord. Humble yourself. Cry out to God!

We Must Believe The Promises Of God
"When we are going through a hard time Satan will whisper, "God doesn't care about you. God isn't going to be faithful. God isn't with you in this. This is too big for God."

It is in these times of temptation to doubt God's word when we must fight the good fight as Jesus fought the enemy. By knowing God's word, by believing God's word, by reminding ourselves of God's word.

When Jesus was tempted, his response was "It is written..." and he quoted Scripture. This is how we fight the good fight of faith. By reminding ourselves of God's promises, and by believing them. By fighting to believe them."

And here are several quotes about faith...
"Relying on God has to start all over everyday, as if nothing has yet been done." - C.S. Lewis

"The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm." - Matt Chandler

"God has a purpose behind every problem. He uses circumstances to develop our character." - Rick Warren

"You should be courageous, not because of who you are and what you've done, but because of who God is and what He has done!" - Wayne A. Mack

"God earnestly wants people to do great things. Here is the secret to be an instrument He can use: Be faithful in little things." - Michael Farris

"As long as the eyes of our faith are fixed upon our troubles we will not find joy. Until our minds consciously move the Lord from our peripheral vision into the narrow corridor of our focus, joy will elude us." - Paul Tautges

"Fight your battles through prayer, and win your battles through faith." - Luffina Lourduraj

"Feed your faith and starve your doubts." - Kenneth E. Hagin Sr.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!

Kev