John 10: 11 - 13, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep..." NKJV
Every believer should make the choice to serve the Lord's purpose in the earth thereby glorifying Him in their lives and serving as a witness to others. However, we must realize that when we make that commitment to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him, it will come at a price. As a matter of fact, the higher your calling is the higher the price you will have to pay. I am in no way suggesting that you are somehow paying for your salvation; there are many examples in the Bible of where God called people to serve Him, and it was expensive for them. For some, the price was so high that it cost them their lives.
Basically, once you have chosen to accept God's will over your own desires in life, you will have to choose to love Him more than yourself or this world's goods. Just because we decide to love God and to display our love through obedient actions doesn't mean Satan won't try to distract us or cause a diversion in our lives to get us off focus. He will try to threaten us in an attempt to get us to back off in unbelief instead of moving forward in our faith. If the enemy finds something that is effective in our progression in Christ, he will keep using it against us so that we stop obeying the Lord.
Have you made a commitment to Christ to serve and please Him with your life since you have become a Christian? Did you encounter a hardship or an attack of Satan that may have caused you to back off of your commitment? If so, then know that you're not alone. Now that God is dealing with your heart, it is important that you decide to begin moving onward.
Through the grace of God, the Lord will keep working in your heart; He will begin healing the pain of loss so that you will become strong enough to engage in the good fight of faith again. Once you get to the place where God knows you're ready to advance, He will give you instructions to step out in faith once again. Falling doesn't have to be fatal, but quitting can be. You see; the just shall live by faith, and if anyone draws back in unbelief, the Lord will have no pleasure in them (Hebrews 10).
You may be new in your faith in Christ and afraid to step out; you may have been walking with the Lord a long time and been injured along the way and stepped back. Nevertheless, all of us need to make the decision to set our face like a flint and choose to suffer for Christ so that He will be glorified. We must decide to decrease that Christ might increase in us. God has promised to restore to us the years that the enemy has stolen from us. Come on! Let's walk on the water together.
By the Grace of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery
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