Our conquering King!

(2Timothy 2:13) “If we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself.”

It is a glorious change in our lives when God graciously affords His children the opportunity to close one’s eye with Him on one’s mind and then to open one’s eyes with Him as our first thought as we wipe the sleep from or eyes. What has changed I ask myself? I do not have to dig deep to find the answer, as it is obvious. God remains constant in His perfect character, never tossed to and fro, how beautiful to behold his glory although it be through the eyes of faith. In fact without faith it is impossible to please God and without believing that He diligently looks to bless all His children when they walk by faith and not by sight we remain in a very uncertain place. The “slough of despond” will always look to penetrate our lives with unbelief and as long as we do not believe that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him we will be left wading in our puddle of unbelief.

So what has changed?  The understanding of this verse; “if we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself.” (2Timothy 2:13)

God is not a hard task master that looks to drive and scourge His children at every opportunity so that they are driven into shape. I thank my gracious God for all of those times in my life when that was needed, without the crack of His whip I would be in serious trouble. But to be able to rest our heads peacefully upon the breast of the Lord Jesus as the Beloved Disciple had done, is the sweetest of experiences.

So what has changed? My understanding of faith toward God; for so many years the snares and traps of this life have beguiled me into believing so many lies about my weakness in the flesh. I have failed to trust God in and through these experiences that has kept me bound by so many weak and beggarly elements that look to find life through my existence. And I am not speaking of gross sin per se, but sin nevertheless. The faith of David or Samson or even Joshua and Caleb is now a lot closer to the understanding of my heart than it once was.

The Lord Jesus wrought a mighty work on Calvary and then on the third day He rose from the dead and broke the shackles of every enslaving sin on the planet. This truth must not remain just theory in our minds but it must have its outworking in our lives. And it is only when we believe it to be true for ourselves that the words of the Lord Jesus ring sweet to the ear… “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30)

So what has changed? It has absolutely nothing to do with my inabilities as a frail man, but it has all to do with the conquering power of the Lord Jesus in my life. He has won the victory, there is nothing complicated to figure out all we need do is believe God and more specifically in every area of our lives where doubt looks to live. Let me now use a practical example to illustrate my point; in the past I would often go to sleep with a daunting thought impregnated on my mind, an ungodly thought and instead of seeking God’s face about the thought and wrestling with my conscience in faith calling upon the One who alone has the power to deliver, I would offer let it slip and try and ignore it. This was my first mistake! The very first instruction our great Saviour gives us when teaching us to pray is; “Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God requires this mindset from his children and faith demands that we seek our God in order to find His reward. And no! It is not material wealth that drives us but rather zeal urges to put off sin and to put on Christ. Our goal must be to look more like our glorious Saviour. It is here that our Merciful Father rewards us. No ifs and buts! He then begins to root out those holds on our lives that once stood higher than Everest. What’s more is He loves to reward His children, for this I am so forever thankful.

It is when we bring back a bad report on all the giants in our lives that we fail to walk in faith, regardless of these monsters with their honed warfare skills our God is more than a conqueror, only believe in His ability and not our inabilities.

Signing off

Tyrone