Success Over
Struggle
by Rev.
Myrl Eddings
Cornelius
approached the Lord in sincerity for salvation, although he was a Gentile, realizing that
he wasn’t quite in the place with God that he needed to be. We can contrast his
awareness with the spiritual blindness that had overtaken the Laodicean church addressed
in the book of Revelation. As Christians, we allow weeds to grow up and cause our
vision to become dim. Yet, even many sinners see their need for a Savior. This fact
alone demonstrates the stark reality of our day.
We
need only to rehearse the experiences of the Hebrew captives in the land of Egypt to
understand the pattern of decline of any people who once called upon God and later reneged
in the face of adversity. Their cry was unrelenting before the Lord in captivity to the
point that God sent Moses to deliver them. After liberation from their captors,
however, the exhilaration of newfound freedom wore off the Israelites. Their failure
to acknowledge the close proximity to the Promised Land created a negativity that
eventually disqualified their entrance therein at all. In Moses’ absence they
began to question the very existence of God and quickly turned to idolatry.
Contemporary
believers sadly mimic the Jewish phenomenon of yesteryear. Prayers are offered for a
particular need, and upon an answer from the Lord, we see attrition from the mission we
began. An attachment to our personal agenda sometimes takes priority over our
relationship with God. We must take a firm stand in the Spirit to ensure that the
God-given vision in our hearts is not stolen by a diversionary tactic of the devil.
Just as the children of Israel murmured in the wilderness, Christians today
sometimes lose out on the blessings that the Lord would give them through hardness of
heart and unbelief.
There
is a continual flow of negative energy to thwart the work of the Holy Ghost.
Starting in business 3 decades ago, I was informed that I wouldn’t succeed.
My first attempt to participate in church service also met with resistance.
Gainsayers have consistently bombarded successive ventures. Through it all
God has been victorious in His people.
Unbelief
has largely crippled the effectiveness of the children of God in recent times. Doubt
will always approach us from Satan’s effort through various channels. But the
latter days are upon us. The Lord is building a church that won’t faint.
Thank God that the devices that are deployed against us aren’t profitable
(Isaiah 54:17). Trials are defeated when we trust the Lord for deliverance.
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