Is He Sure to Bless?
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Heavenly Connections
Is He Sure to Bless?
by Tim Hall
Two brothers made a promise to follow God. For a
time, they were true to their word, submitting to
God's wisdom, obeying His will. In time, however,
one decided there was more reward to be found from
the world. He abandoned his commitment and walked
in paths the Lord had forbidden.
God described that tragedy through His prophet
Hosea: "Ephraim has encompassed Me with lies, and
the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still
walks with God, even with the Holy One who is
faithful" (Hos. 11:12, New King James Version).
What made the difference between these two
brothers? As Hosea said, one trusted in the
faithfulness of God, while the other apparently
did not. That trust makes all the difference. If
we believe something is going to be worthwhile, we
will endure great obstacles. But when our hope for
reward is weakened or taken away, we quickly give
up.
God's faithfulness is a prominent theme of the
Bible. Paul noted it in his letter to Corinth:
"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the
fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1
Cor. 1:9). Remove the certainty that God will
bless our efforts, and who is willing to give up
his will for the Lord's? But Paul had no doubts
about God's willingness to bless. "He is
faithful", Paul assured them.
James, too, pointed to the value of knowing God's
faithfulness. He compared the Christian's life to
a farmer's labor. There are times, between the
early and the latter rains, when the farmer
wonders if his efforts will be in vain. But then
the rain comes and his patience is rewarded. "You
also be patient," James concluded. "Establish your
hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand"
(Jas. 5:7,8).
As Christians see the world doling out riches to
the ungodly, it's hard to hold onto our faith. Why
not let go of things we can't see and grab for the
world's golden rings? After all, this talk about
heaven may just be fantasy. As time goes by, our
resolve to live by faith weakens, and many decide
to take what is before them. Demas was one such
Christian (2 Tim. 4:10).
The faithfulness of God -- how important it is to
see this attribute! And how is it that we can make
it ever clearer in our minds? Here's Paul's
prescription: "For whatever things were written
before were written for our learning, that we
through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).
Back to the Bible! In our modern world of
sophistication and technology, it sounds just too
simple and old-fashioned. But those who wish to
endure to the end cannot allow anything to detract
them from reading the Bible. In reminding
ourselves of how God has faithfully dealt with
others in the past, we'll be encouraged to endure,
too.
An old Greek hymn of the 8th century speaks the
lesson eloquently:
If I ask Him to receive me, will He say me nay?
Not till earth and not till heaven pass away.
Finding, following, keeping, struggling, is He
sure to bless?
Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs answer 'Yes'."
(From the hymn, "Art Thou Weary?")
Is God sure to bless? The answer we hold in our
hearts will determine the resolve we have to
persevere.
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