In Times Of Trouble

Hebrews 13: 5, Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." NKJV

When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by the Devil, He quoted the Word. He said, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Our heavenly Father asks us to walk in faith knowing He is faithful and will never leave us nor forsake us. However, occasionally, there will be times when our faith will be tried. When this happens, we must remember that God will test our obedience, but it's Satan who will test our faith.

When we find ourselves in tests, as Jesus did in the wilderness, will we do as He did and stand on the Word and faithfulness of God or will we allow covetousness to cause us to begin to doubt God's faithfulness? Personally, and you won't hear that term from me often. I believe we all struggle with doubt from time to time. This is not the issue. The real issue is what will we do when doubt comes knocking on our heart's door wanting to come in and deceive us.

Why do you suppose Jesus, who was the Word of God in flesh, had to quote scripture in order to combat Satan? He was walking "by faith" in God. Therefore, He wasn't going to allow His desires to dictate how He responded to the temptations of Satan. It's not about being hungry or broke; it's about answering Satan when he comes to us and casts doubt in our hearts about the "seemingly" absence of God during this time.

This is why we must both stand on and speak the Word of God because it shows Satan we trust that our Father hasn't abandoned us. It reveals to God that we are submitted and committed to walking by faith because we know He won't forsake us. Here's the key for today's devotion: It goes against the carnal nature to trust God when walking in a time of lack. Furthermore, it crucifies our flesh when we choose to stand on God's Word despite our undesirable circumstances. Therefore, we can take a bold stand against the strategies of the Devil and keep him under our feet by speaking the Word over the situation, knowing that God is indeed with us. 

Since God has sworn to us that He won't forsake us, especially in a time of lack, then we can have confidence and boldness to stand on His Word and declare the truth to Satan and silence his lies. Lack does not mean that God has forsaken you; it is simply an opportunity for us to use our faith in God's Word to see Him provide for us. The widow at Zarephath was in a time of lack, but she obeyed the Word of the Lord from Elijah. Man didn't provide for her during the remainder of that famine. However, God's Word caused her food supply to last until the season was over. 

What good does it do us if we say we walk by faith, but won't allow our faith to be tried? This will only cause us to grow spiritually weak. When our faith gets tried, and we remain faithful to God and stand on His Word, then God can supply all of our need, and our faith will make us strong.

Living by the Word of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery