Source of Strength

If you believe that Jesus is the Christ - that he is God's Son and your Savior - then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. So you can find out how much you love God's children - your brothers and sister in the Lord - by how much you love and obey God. Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn't hard at all; for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.

But who could possibly fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God?

1 John 5;1-5 (TLB)

Ohuwaseun Ajia lives in Lagos, Nigeria. She was having a chat with a friend a couple of days ago, and she asked, "Is it wrong for a Christian to question God when things are hard and not making sense?" We all face tough times and ask, Why?

Ohuwaseun has certainly had moments when she has questioned God, not because she doesn't believe but because the situation just seems unbearable. She does not believe it's wrong to question God. The first disciples did, and so did many others throughout the scriptures.

The past few years have been challenging for us all. We have been tested, frustrated, and angry at our circumstances. But our reading from 1 John tells us who we are in Christ Jesus; we are "overcomers." And this truth will never change, even when things are bad. Because we are born of God, our source of strength lies in God. Knowing this doesn't always solve our immediate struggles, but it puts our minds at peace and enables us to continue to receive guidance from the Spirit of God. So "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18).

Prayer: Help us, O God, when we are at the crossroads of doubt and faith. May your word always shine as a beacon of light to us in our times of uncertainty, in Jesus' name. Amen.