“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of me, but in the power of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:3-5
Would you say your faith is unshakable? Let me rephrase that. When life gets a little unsteady, feels upside down, and shakes you up a bit…where do you stand? Is it on the firm foundation of your faith, or does life take you on detours that lead you to those bumpy roads that trip you up?
It’s okay to admit your faith is a little unsteady, maybe even wavering right now. If I am being honest, mine is too. The truth is, I want to have this incredible connection to the Father, where I completely trust and obey Him with every aspect of my life, all while illuminating light that radiates my love for Jesus!
But just this morning, I took my coffee, sat in my car all alone, and let the lies of this world fall on my already heavy shoulders. Instead of leaning into God, I succumbed to the ways of my flesh and allowed bitterness to fester. Ugh. My unshakable faith shattered!
But, then God showed up as I opened the console (looking for a phone charger), and I was met with two copies of the Bible. I keep them in there because over the past couple of years, we have had our car broken into a few times, and I figured if anyone is going to steal something (besides my phone charger), it might as well be a copy of God’s Word.
Now, to be completely honest, at that moment, I was ready to sort of numb out and do the mindless phone scroll. Yet as I plugged in my phone, those Bibles kept staring back at me, and I got this sense that God was softly calling me to “recharge” my faith, too. It’s just like God to do that, right?
Well, maybe this is your divine sign, and God is tenderly calling for you to “recharge” your faith. If so, then snag your Bible, (heading out to your car with a cup of coffee is optional), and flip to 1 Corinthians 2:3-5.
Paul wrote the letter of First Corinthians to the church at Corinth. Paul is probably the most influential character in the New Testament (besides Jesus of course) and is also quite arguably the greatest missionary to have ever lived! When we think of Paul, we often picture this bold man of stature who exuded such confidence and remained diligent and strong as he traveled all over the Mediterranean. Even though he faced brutality, calamity, and adversity, he continued to preach, striving to win the hearts of Jews and Gentiles alike.
Paul was the epitome of unshakable faith in the early church, right? … Some of the people in Corinth didn’t really think so. In fact, some didn’t think he was that impressive! Paul humbly shared with them that the first time he came to preach to them he was nervous, filled with anxiety and fear! Paul got personal and showed humility, explaining how he had moments when his faith wavered, bending to the ways of his flesh. However, he goes on to say that it isn’t about grand performances or perfect execution of delivery because God will fill in our weaknesses.
Friend, did you catch that? Unshakable faith isn’t about having the “perfect” faith that never rattles us, but rather it comes with moments that may shake us, sometimes to the core of our being, and cause us to come before God in our weakness. It’s in those moments we must humble ourselves and seek a recharge of our faith by our good and “perfect” Savior, Jesus!
Let’s pray:
O God, we come before You in need of Your divine mercy and grace. We admit that we need You. We can so easily bend and sway to the lies of this world, going down paths that trip us up with anxiety, fear, worry, and so much more. Yet, we know when we are weak, falling, and failing along the way, You are faithful and strong. So, we seek Your strength today. We surrender our hearts to You and ask that You intervene in our lives, reigniting our faith once again. We humbly ask this in Your holy and precious name, Jesus, amen.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Milko
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
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Originally published Sunday, 28 April 2024.
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