Raw Faith: A Lesson in Staying the Course

“We are a family torn apart, but Jesus hasn’t abandoned us.”

Those are the words boldly spoken by Naghmeh Abedini on June 2, 2015. She testified in front of a room of politicians as she has done many times before about the imprisonment of her husband, Saeed. This time it was in Washington D.C., at a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Her husband is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence in Iran for being a Christian and refusing to convert back to Islam.

While we may never face Christian persecution like Saeed, we do face struggles and pain. And Jesus will never abandon us either and that is a promise from the Lord. Naghmeh echos a reminder we all need, “Jesus has not abandoned us.” It’s not just a positive affirmation to make you feel better, it’s a promise.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”  (Deuetronomy 31:6, NIV)

There will be times that we question God’s will in the midst of our pain but He never leaves us.
We may question how He can possibly turn our pain into good, but eventually we will see it.
We may question God’s plan when we had another one in mind, but His plan is the best.

So what do you do when faced with difficulty in life?

You stay the course.

Our faith may not be as strong as we would hope it should be, but we must remind ourselves of His word. In the Bible we not only see what God promises but we see evidence of it in other people’s lives. Thankfully we have testimonies of others that have gone before us as proof of the truth behind God’s promises. At the same time we must forgive ourselves when our walk with Jesus isn’t as smooth or easy as we think it should be.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

As disciples of Christ, we struggle, as anyone would, because there is a spiritual battle over our souls. This battle is real and it’s about whom we claim to love and follow. Some days you will feel as weak as Job and other days you will feel as bold as Paul.

No matter how you feel today I pray you are encouraged to keep moving closer to God and keep in mind that your struggles won’t last forever. God will use every tear and heartache to bring you closer to Him and through your faith others will see how He loves us!

What scripture do you focus on to remind yourself to stay the course?