THOSE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD Part 28

“Those who know their God will be strong and do great things.” Dan 11:32

WHAT DO PEOPLE DO TO KNOW GOD?

My parents endured many trials and much pain throughout their life, but especially during their child-rearing years. There were 20 children in my family, not including many foster children along the way. My mom’s name was Rosella, and just like the perfume that comes from the crushing of rose petals, so my mother became sweeter and sweeter through life’s pressures. As she grew older, her attitude towards those who had hurt her and done her wrong was nothing short of precious. She was so forgiving and so accepting! It always amazed me to see how she became sweeter and sweeter as time went on.

Usually, the things in life that are precious have gone through a lot of pressure and trial. Precious stones like diamond, Ruby, and Sapphire are created by intense heat and pressure deep under the earth’s surface. Gold, though it is costly, is refined by extreme heat. Interestingly, the Bible likens our faith to gold.

1 Peter 1:6-7 In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Faith grows during trial and requires effort. Often people get confused over the word effort when talking about faith and our relationship with God. Effort is necessary to grow in faith and to go deeper in your relationship with God. Grace is never opposed to effort, but it is greatly opposed to earning. We can never earn right standing with God, but it will require effort to become transformed by its truth.

Hebrews 4:8-11 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, e just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

We must be those who are very serious about renewing our minds with the truth of God’s word. This is where effort is required! Because we live in a fallen world, our minds naturally gravitate towards self and self-righteousness. Therefore, we must make every effort to live by faith and not by our works. Faith is the only thing that accesses the rest of God. You can rightly say that faith is resting in God. Faith is when you don’t trust yourself but entirely rely on God’s provision, protection, and righteousness. Colossians chapter 3 tells us to set our hearts and minds on things above. David said in Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” It is not the person who visits the secret place; it is the person who dwells in the secret place. What is that secret place? It is the place of faith. When you believe that God will make a way, your heart will be at rest and at peace.

When it comes to your mind, nobody can take control of it for you. God gave you the authority to choose his thoughts or the thoughts of this world. The thoughts of this world produce fear and anxiety. The thoughts of God produce peace and rest. You have the choice to meditate on what you want. Are you choosing God’s thoughts? Yes, I understand, it is easy to worry, but we must, with real effort, set our mind on the precious promises in the word of God because the kind of faith that produces…

REST COMES THROUGH EFFORT