Dwight Fletcher | The secret to survival

THINGS SEEM to be devolving around us daily, and as Christians we must learn to not only survive, but to thrive. To do so, we need to learn to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. As Christians, our spirit is alive with the Holy Spirit, and the secret to victory will be to listen and conform our soul to obey and be responsive to what our spirit is saying.

We do not need to fight these battles alone, but our challenge is often our surrendering and trusting God to work things out. In these ‘end times’ we must learn how to be in the midst of tribulation, hardship, temptation, and not panic.

The power of God is with His children, and when there are difficult circumstances to handle, know that God is with us. He will not leave nor will He forsake us.

In these ‘end times’ we need to know that, “the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

GROWING OUR FAITH

Jesus loved us and gave Himself for us before we were Christians. How much more does He love us now that we are His children. Romans 8:31b-32 (NIV) reminds us, “If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Our concentration should be growing our faith.

Colossians 2:7 (NLT) tells us, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Growing our faith requires our cooperation with God, and it starts with God’s Word. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV). Faith comes by hearing and doing what the Word of God says. As we read the Bible and start doing what it says, we will grow in our faith.

To help us, the Holy Spirit needs biblical truth to work with. The Bible is a major source of direction and illumination for us as we traverse these treacherous times. If our faith is weak in a particular area, we need to know what the Bible teaches about that area and ask God to increase our understanding in it. Our reading the Bible gives the Holy Spirit the tools to bring to our mind everything that God wants us to live daily.

Our faith isn’t a mental exercise. The Bible says, “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” James 2:17 (NLT). Even though we may be cooperating with the Spirit of God, if we don’t do something with our faith, it’s not growing and taking root in our lives. We must act on what we believe. Our works go hand in hand with an active faith.

In James 2:20-22 (NIV), in speaking about the Father of Faith, Abraham, he said, “You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did”.

To survive, and thrive, in these times we must be intentional about deepening our relationship and cooperating with the Holy Spirit while growing in and exercising our faith.