Message
Sometime ago, a lady in one of the RCCG parishes was sacked unjustly from her workplace. Shortly after that, she embarked on a journey, and highway robbers stopped her and took her car away. Days later, while she was trying to cook, her kitchen caught fire. All these occurrences happened within a week. Interestingly, the following Sunday was Thanksgiving Sunday, and she danced and rejoiced more than everyone else. Everybody stared at her because she was the last person they expected to be dancing like that. However, she told them, “I lost my job, not my salvation. They stole my car, but they didn’t steal my life. My kitchen caught fire, but I am not going to hell. Whatever the devil has tried, I am still here.” That is the testimony of someone who had an intimate relationship with God before challenges came, and He never lets such people down ().
If anyone tells you that you will never face challenges because you are a Christian, that fellow is not telling you the whole truth. Challenges will come, but your response to them will be determined by how much you love God. If a challenge pushes you away from God, then your love is small. Some people confess their undying love for God, singing that they will always follow Him, whether through storms or fires. However, when challenges come, they forget their confession and turn away from Him.
If telling the truth about a situation at work will cost you your job, will you lie to save your job or tell the truth and bear the consequences? You may claim now that you will always tell the truth, but what will really determine what you will do in that situation is your love for God now. Your love for Him must be built from today if you will remain standing in the face of challenges.
In , the three Hebrew boys were confronted with the option to either bow to an idol or be thrown into fire. They chose fire, and that shows real love for God. That love was not cultivated on the day the king gave the command for them to bow; they had been cultivating it long before then.
Beloved, build your love for Christ now. Study your Bible diligently, pray without ceasing, and keep fellowshipping with other Christians so that when the day of adversity comes, your love for God will keep you standing.