2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
LEARN
I have always worried about death. I know I am not supposed to be anxious about death because I will be in heaven, but the question that concerns me is if I will make it to heaven at all! I have gone through times in my life where I look forward to resting in the word and growing in my relationship with Christ, but there have been many times where I have zero desire to pursue Christ. In the times where I feel a lack of desire for God I also begin to question whether I am one of God’s children and I begin to distance myself from Him out of shame. When I feel distant from God I can become a mindless person. I avoid my sin and place my efforts into anything that will distract me from such an overwhelming reality. I know this specific insecurity is not just unique to me, but something we all struggle with at some point of our faith. This insecurity happens because we are sinners and we live in a fallen world where we easily disorder things that cause us to believe lies about the bible.
Take these three statements for example.
I am a sinner saved by grace through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8)
Because of Jesus, God loves me and has forgiven all of my sins, and the sins I have yet to commit. (Romans 5:8)
I get to participate in Christ’s redeeming work and can be assured of my salvation. (Hebrews 3:14)
It is so easy to forget truths about the bible when we fixate on one thing to the point that we lose sight of another and we begin to create false gospels. Using the examples above we can come up with many lies about how we earn salvation. When we believe our participation is what gives us our salvation and not Christ’s work in us, we will create a works based faith. When we believe God loves us, but don’t believe we are sinners in need of grace, we neglect the importance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and our depravity. When we place our sin first and neglect God’s saving grace we will believe we will never be enough for God to love us. All of these statements are distorted realities about God. Realities God doesn’t want for us.
My fear of death and not going to heaven stems from thinking I have to earn my salvation, and at other times stems from taking for granted God’s love for me. Yes, we should test ourselves, we should be examining if we are in the faith because if we don’t our reality could be hell and that should cause us to worry, but we should examine ourselves in light of Christ redeeming us. If we don’t look at these simultaneously our disorder will continue to cause insecurity. When we allow our insecurities to dictate our beliefs instead of seeking the truth in the word we will continue down a path that will cause us to mindlessly fill our days with thoughts and tasks that ultimately do not matter.
God desires for us to participate in his work and devote ourselves to him but not because we feel guilty or obligated. God desires us to devote ourselves to him and continue to persevere out of a spirit of gratefulness that even as sinners we are deeply loved and forgiven by a God whose steadfast love will never run out “but the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him” Psalm 103:17. Let us fear the greatness of the Lord and the one who conquered death instead of fearing death itself. Fearing death just leads to death, but fearing God leads to eternal life.
KNOW
Meditate on the words of this song and reflect on what you struggle to believe about the words. If you want to listen to it simultaneously you can check out this youtube video of the song as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=936BapRFHaQ
He Will Hold Me Fast
When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life's fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast
[Chorus]
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
[Verse 2]
Those He saves are His delight
Christ will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight
He will hold me fast
He'll not let my soul be lost
His promises shall last
Bought by Him at such a cost
He will hold me fast
[Chorus]
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
[Verse 3]
For my life He bled and died
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight
When He comes at last
[Chorus]
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
DO
Go on a walk and look around at the common graces God has given you through your five senses. Acknowledge his love for you.
Breathe in the smells and thank God for the things you smell
Look around you and thank God for the things you see
Touch the plants, animals, flowers and thank God for the things you touch
Listen as you walk and thank God for the noises you hear
When you come home….
5. Drink some water, taste the crispness and thank God for the things you taste
