KEEP THE FAITH

Apostle Paul made an insightful statement in 2 Timothy 4:7 when he said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”  This infers that all through various circumstances, he maintained his cool and never lost focus of where he was going or the God he was serving.  Surprisingly the phrase, ‘keep the faith’ in Merriam-Webster dictionary means: to continue to believe in, trust, or support someone or something when it is difficult to do so. Another meaning is to continue in the committed pursuit of some idea or goal that is worthy but difficult to attain or achieve.  This is what God is calling us to do this fifth month of 2018 to KEEP THE FAITH! Regardless of the situation God is calling on you to hold the fort! Victory is nigh! Our anchor scripture for this month Psalm 22:24 gives us a very concrete reason why quitting should not be an alternative, “For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help” (Ps. 22:24).

Note that David did not write this sentence in a future tense like ‘God will not’ or  ‘God shall not’ but he wrote it in past participle “He has not …..” meaning that IT IS DONE! God has not ignored your prayers.  Your affliction has not put Him off, He has not shunned you because of your problems neither has he hidden his face from you BUT He has listened to your cry for help.  It is also worthy of note to mention that David ended this chapter with absolute confidence in God’s ability in Psalm 22:31 when he wrote, “He has done it!” Don’t allow your emotions to get the better of you.  God is not ignorant of your situation. He keeps record and is well informed of everything that pertains to you according to Psalm 56:8. You are not forgotten, you are not forsaken therefore beloved cheer up because Help is on the way!   

All God requires of you is to keep the faith, don’t allow challenges, problems, and trials to shake your faith.  Job worshipped God in the midst of his misfortunes (Job 1:20); Worship Him even when you don’t understand what He is doing.  Job was a man who understood affliction, he lost all he had yet he opted to keep the faith when he made this statement in Job 14:14, “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes.” He was merely saying that he was prepared to keep his faith till God shows up and we do know that God never failed Job for in Job 42:10, “…..the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before and also Job 42:12, “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the former part”…..God will not allow you to be put to shame for His name’s sake! You have called on His name and have put your trust in Him, He will not disappoint you.  If in doubt, take a look once again at the account of all the names mentioned in Hebrew 11 and you will find that each kept their faith intact till the very end even those who didn’t have a great start.  Their end justified the means. Your background doesn’t mean your back has to be on the ground. Don’t allow where you are, who you are or where you are from to dictate the plan and purpose of God for your life.  God has the final say because He is the author and the finisher of your faith!

Honestly speaking it may not be easy to keep the faith as a matter of fact it can be risky but God always appear anyway. Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego defied the king’s order and risked their lives but God showed up (Daniel 3:24-26).  HE WILL SHOW UP FOR YOU in Jesus name!  Learn to increase your faith based on the written promises of God and the truth of God’s word will set you free.  Believe God that He is able to do what He says He will do (Heb.11:6) and as you keep the faith, your faith in God will keep you, deliver you and give you victory.  Don’t give up on God because He won’t give up on you!

Pastor Lekan Oyewande (May 2017)