O, for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!
That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God.
A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt.
That bears, unmoved, the world’s dread frown
Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That seas of trouble cannot drown,
Nor Satan’s arts beguile.
A faith that keeps the narrow way
Till life’s last hour is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray
Lights up a dying bed.
Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
I’ll taste, e’en here, the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home.
- William Hiley Bathurst -
Discouragement can easily cause our faith to shrink,
and we may even at times consider quitting our service for God.
One of the chief characteristics of spiritual maturity
is the ability to persevere - even in the face of adversity.
God often permits difficulties to come into our lives
simply to allow our faith in Him to become stronger.
A faith that is never tested and strengthened
soon becomes a shrinking one.
But if our faith is real,
it will stand every test and prove to be an overcoming faith.
- Kenneth W. Osbeck -
{ While taking photos for this post the sweet neighborhood cat joined me
and I got distracted with taking pictures of her.}
* * * * * * * * * *
And the apostles said unto the Lord,
Increase our faith.
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed,
ye might say unto this sycamine tree,
Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea;
and it should obey you.
- Luke 17:5-6 -
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:
as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
- Romans 1:17 -
Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
- Ephesians 6:16 -
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
- 2 Timothy 1:7 -
Ponder this question-
Could I stand to lose everything
and still have an implicit faith in God
and know with certainty that He is in control?
When the world seems at its worst,
Christians must be at their best.
- Unknown -
Blessings and joy to you
on this Lord's Day!