Articles
Trusting the Authority of Jesus Christ
When you think of Jesus, do you only consider the man who was sacrificed for our sake, or do you think of Jesus Christ the heir of all things: exact imprint of God’s nature, upholder of the universe, and radiance of God’s glory? (Hebrews 1:1-4) He is the divine son of God who willingly became a servant and then died on the cross for our sins, so that we could have the opportunity to live with Him eternally in peace. (Isaiah 53) If we truly recognize Jesus Christ’s authority above all else, then there should be no reason to put our faith and hope into anything else but God.
James 1:5-8 (ESV) says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Satan uses our struggles to blind us and make us believe that our hope solely lies in money, time, doctors, or other worldly blessings we may have. Yet, it is God who has granted these blessings and uses them for His good purpose. If there is any to hope to get through our struggles it lies with God. With Him we have no need for a backup plan for our faith and hope.
Placing our hope and faith in God doesn’t mean we just sit around and wait for God to do all the work. Relationships are a two way street and our relationship with God is no different. Deuteronomy 29:29 (ESV) says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Having a biblical view point about our suffering takes effort. Suffering makes us feel like it will never going to end and that it is meaningless. Like all physical things the suffering will come to an end. After it does, will we be able to say that we did everything we could to stay faithful to God and hopeful with Him?
Hope and faith are not guarantees the we have all the answers, or, that the Lord’s plan for us will align with our expectations. Romans 8:28 tells us that if we trust Him and stay focused on doing His will, then we can be confident that it will leads to goodness. Hebrews 7:25 reads, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Do we have faith that Jesus Christ will saves us? Do we hope that obediently following His teachings will lead us to a life of eternal peace?
