1 Peter 1:8-9

"Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls" 1 Peter 1:8-9

"Stop it!" she cried indignantly. "I will not do that! Now go away and leave me alone." Silently, ashamedly, dejectedly, the interloper backs out of the door, but a smirk crosses his face as he turns to leave, "I may go now, but rest assured, I will return." He whirls and saunters down the hallway to the bank of elevators.

The struggle this woman faced is one we face every day...the trying of our faith. It may have been a perverted temptation that caused our heroine to cringe. It could have been the temptation to lie or steal or cheat or speak falsely, but she was victorious... this time. Will she be equally firm when temptation visits again? She did the right thing. She stood firm. She denied the tempter entrance into her domain. How long can she hold out for surely the visitor will return again ... and again ... and again? If she continually turns her back on the fatal attraction, she will find her faith and her resolve strengthened and the accuser will visit less frequently. But he will use the time to devise more subtle temptations. Will she be in tune with her God enough to see the new attempts and flee from them?

Ah, the troubles and trials of the believer in Jesus. Have you ever wondered why God doesn't save people, let them preach in their new found zeal for a few months, then "take them home"? I have. Many of the people I have ministered to in the past have. It is not an uncommon thought - one that often comes to us after a failure. That's when I ask "why?" We don't like to fail. We don't enjoy falling. When we sin, we feel miserable wondering if we will ever "get it right." Those are times when our faith is tested. Those are times when we must dig deep into our spiritual reserves and find the strength to start over again. We all struggle with temptation. We all stumble from time to time. We all fail to meet God's expectations... that is what sin is.

The difference is this: God forgives and forgets; we degrade ourselves and ponder the nature of our sinful lives. It isn't God who condemns us. He forgives. It isn't the Holy Spirit that makes us feel like failures. His lifts us up and leads us into righteousness. We are the ones who cast condemnation upon ourselves because we listen to the accuser of our souls. The accuser would have us cast ourselves upon the spear of blame and impale ourselves condemned to die in the lost condition from which God redeemed us through Jesus Christ.

The object, the goal, of our faith is salvation. We need to take our sight off of our failures and focus on the beaming face of God as He sees us, as He wants us to be - perfect. And if He sees us whole and blameless, we must believe that, that is what we are through the blood of Jesus. In this way our faith is made whole and strong and perfect and we are victorious. Amen and Amen.