Christian Life is Not Always Green Pastures

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Christian Life is Not Always Green Pastures

Today's Text: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. Exodus 17:6

The Message:      Though the way may be rough, we must exercise implicit faith in the power of the Lord to guide us. The experience of the children of Israel when journeying through the wilderness is a lesson for us on this point. "All the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin ... according to the commandments of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink."...      He who was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud was leading them, and it was by His express command that they were encamped at this place. The General of the armies of heaven knew of the lack of water at Rephidim, and He brought His people hither to test their faith. But how poorly they proved themselves to be a people whom He could trust. Again and again He had manifested Himself to His chosen people. He had slain the first-born of all families of Egypt to accomplish their deliverance, and had brought them out of the land of their captivity with a high hand. He had fed them with angels' food, and had covenanted to bring them into the Promised Land. But now, when brought into difficulty, they broke into rebellion, distrusted God, and complained that Moses had brought them and their children out of Egypt only that they might die of thirst in the wilderness. By their murmurings and lack of faith they dishonored God and placed themselves where they could not appreciate His mercies.      Many today think that when they begin their Christian life they will find freedom from all want and difficulty. But all who take up their cross to follow Christ come to a Rephidim in their experience. Life is not all made up of green pastures and cooling streams. Disappointment overtakes us, privations come, circumstances occur that bring us into difficult places. As we follow in the narrow way, doing our best as we think, we find that grievous trials come to us. We think that we must have walked by our own wisdom far away from God. Conscience-stricken, we reason that if we had walked with God we would not have suffered so....      But of old the Lord led His people to Rephidim, and He may choose to bring us there also in order to test our faithfulness and loyalty to Him. In mercy to us He does not always place us in the easiest places, for if He did, in our self-sufficiency we would forget that the Lord is our helper in time of necessity.-Letter 24, 1896.

Commentary: My friend, faith is developed only as we exercise faith.  Therefore, as we live our lives, walking in obedience to His will, trials and tests will cross our paths.  As we look back at the way that God has lead us in the past, it gives us strength to face the trials of the day and our faith is strengthened and we are prepared for new trials to come. The Scriptures tell us in 2 Timothy 3:12 "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.", so we need not be surprised when persecution comes into our lives, for it is a sign that God is working to perfect your characters and increase our faith.  The Son of God came to this world that He may suffer and die for our sins.  He left the majesty of Heaven, seated next to the Father and was adored by all the heavenly hosts, that He may redeem man from their sins.  When we suffer for Christ's sake, we become partakers of His sufferings.  When we are persecuted, do not despair for Jesus said "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). My friend to be persecuted for righteousness sake is a blessing from above.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  If we desire to receive blessing when we are persecuted for righteousness sake, we must first have the blessings Jesus spoke of in verses 3-9. We must come to Him with a broken and contrite heart, recognizing that it was our sins that crucified the Son of God.  This will cause us to morn for what we had done and we will surrender our life to Jesus.  As Jesus begins to manifest Himself in our lives we will manifest the meekness of Christ, and the more that we learn of Him, we will hunger and thirst after His righteousness, for we will see that our righteousness is as filthy rags. Because we have been forgiven much we will show mercy to others, our hearts will be purified and we will ever seek to be peacemakers on the earth.  When this work in completed in our lives, when Christ is truly manifested in our hearts, we will receive the promised blessing when we are persecuted for righteousness sake. My friend, do not be discouraged when trials come into your life, but hold fast to Jesus and He will see you through life's trials.  He promises that He will never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) saying "...and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20). God bless,

Video of the Week The Final Protest - Who is the Comforter? This is the forth in a series of videos. The Final protest is dedicated to showing that the foundation for the Ecumenical Movement, the Trinity, is not the true God of the Bible. We invite everyone to come and see for themselves and discover the beautiful truth of a Father and a Son.