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Progress and Joy in Faith

by Jerry Ousley  
4/10/2015 / Christian Living

In order to be a successful Christian we've got to make progress and we've got to have joy in our faith, and that of others. I don't know about you, but I'm just a little bit tired of seeing down-in-the-mouth believers who feel like being a Christian is a great sacrifice and all reason for joy and happiness has been stripped from them. Before anyone takes offense at these words let me explain.

I know that there are hardships. I realize that in the early Church and in many places yet today people are being killed, slaughtered, and persecuted just because they have discovered new life in Jesus Christ and want to share it with others. I also realize that as we get closer to the time of Christ's second coming that persecution will intensify. That's serious and frankly it's not easy. However, reading the testimonies of the saints in the Bible and hearing the testimonies of many who have suffered severe persecution, I see a pattern. Although life is not easy there is a joy in those people that goes beyond inspiration.

Take Paul for example. His words in the first chapter of Philippians find him in a Roman prison. He is awaiting trial and sentencing by Caesar. Things don't look good for him. The Roman Empire was in the middle of its own persecution campaign against Christians. They hunted them down like prey. Paul talks of his chains. But he also tells them that he has come to realize that his imprisonment has become a witness in itself. He has influenced the soldiers guarding him to the point that they realize that he is on trial for his faith. He says that his bondage has influenced others to boldly preach the Gospel. He is so filled with joy that he knows that if he dies he is going on to his eternal home in Heaven and that excites him. He also knows that if he lives that he will continue the ministry of spreading the Gospel. You can feel the joy and excitement in his words as you read them. He isn't singing a song about poor old me, feeling sorry for himself and trying to get his readers to sympathize with him. Instead he is encouraging other believers to progress in their experience and take joy in their faith.

Now I know that there are many who suffer sickness in their bodies. There are folks who have been rejected by their families just because they have accepted Christ. There are believers in countries ruled by false, pagan religions in which to be a Christian means that the only employment they can find is doing the hardest, dirtiest and most menial tasks. They are not allowed to advance simply because they claim Christ as their Savior. These folks have a good reason to pity themselves. They have cause to feel despondent, down-trodden and just plain old taken advantage of. Instead they have a glow about them a peace that cannot be understood by human reason. Why is that? It is because they know Christ. They have seen the temporary life compared to eternal life in Christ and to them it is worth it.

I've been called along the bedside of people who were terminally ill. I was there to comfort them and attempt to say something that might give them hope. I prayed for them that God would raise them up because I felt like that is what I was supposed to do. But inside I knew that they were not going to make it. I felt helpless because there was really nothing I could do.

Then they would begin to speak. Their words were strong, courageous, hopeful and filled with faith. They knew that they were on their way out of this life. But they had knowledge of the other side. They had stood faithful and strong in the Lord and the time of their reward was near at hand. You know what; these folks whom I was supposed to encourage and pray for wound up blessing me instead. Talk about making you hang your head in shame their words would let me know how much I needed to move up in the Lord. They taught me about faith. They wound up encouraging my heart.

Our success is not measured by how many notches we have on our belt from winning souls to the Lord. Yes we are to be a witness of Christ, and as we are obedient to Him we will be. But that doesn't make us successful in the faith. As we progress in our own relationship with the Lord we will find ourselves filled with joy because of our faith. It won't make us rich. It won't define us as successful by the world's standard. But we can stand strong even in our weakness because we've got the inside scoop on reality, and that is knowing the future; maybe not in knowing what's going to happen tomorrow, but in knowing no matter what may come we have hope in Christ.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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