trials

Times of Trouble

January 21, 2021 by Tim Sherfy

In the darkest days, we must remember Jesus is good. He always seeks justice and love. When discouragement encroaches on our soul, He is our comfort. Our unchanging God is in control and we can know all things are working toward His sovereign plan and ultimate victory. We must not grow weary. Our battle is long and our journey difficult. But, oh, our righteous King is our ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1-3).

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Don’t let the circumstances and events surrounding you consume your thoughts and dictate your mood. Turn your eyes to Jesus. See His beauty. Gaze on His glory. Bask in the warmth of His love. He is not panicked or taken off guard by the happenings in our world. We can rest in His unending provision and power.

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What’s Next?

April 23, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Sooner or later, every crisis ends. We will then face the question of, “What’s next?” It’s an important question. While God wants and wills only good for His people, He also uses what the enemy intended for evil to mold us into someone better and stronger. As we emerge from trials, we will be changed. Life will be at once different and familiar.

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If we use the time of crisis to draw closer to God, we will be better equipped to handle the next obstacle life puts in our path. But if we cower in fear, embracing our anxiety while we think the world is caving in around us, we will be weaker and poorly equipped to deal with what’s next.

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Never Expect Smooth Sailing

January 21, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus never let His circumstances dictate His behavior. No matter what was happening around Him, He stayed focused… and there was a lot going on around Him! As followers of Jesus, we should never expect smooth sailing. If following Jesus was easy, I’m guessing a lot more people would choose to do so. Peter, one of Jesus’s closest friends, said we shouldn’t be surprised when fiery ordeals come upon us; we shouldn’t consider it to be unusual or unique to us (1 Peter 4:12).

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In other words, struggles and temptations are always going to be present in our lives. They are a given. What is up to us is how we will respond. We can stay focused as Christ did, or we can allow ourselves to become distracted and choose the easier path.

All Crown, No Cross

March 15, 2018 by Tim Sherfy

Regular readers know I love the teachings of A.W. Tozer. I love the way he pulled no punches and possessed deep insight into the character of God. It’s uncanny how often his writing seems so relevant for today, but in truth was mostly written fifty or more years ago. Here’s something from him which I read recently: “There is something better than being comfortable, and the followers of Christ ought to find it out-the poor, soft, overstuffed Christians of our time ought to find it out!

There is something better than being comfortable! We… have forgotten altogether that there is such a thing as discipline and suffering.” Along the same lines, he also wrote,” We do not want the cross. We are more interested in the crown.” To put it in simple terms, one could say Christians are “all crown, no cross”.

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He’ll Take Care of the Rest

May 26, 2014 by Tim Sherfy

Photo Credit: h.koppdelaney via Compfight cc

We spend so much of our lives living in defeat, never remembering that Christ has already won the victory for us. We get tired of fighting the battles and give up without ever realizing that the battle was over before it even started. Imagine an army too tired to fight another battle. Suddenly they are informed the enemy has surrendered. Instead of marching in and securing the victory, they remain wallowing in their fatigue and let their opponent know that instead of declaring victory, they are going to concede defeat because they’re just too tired to go on. It’s a ridiculous scenario, but it is the way many followers of Jesus are living their lives every day.