“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:35-37).

The world may disappoint us and turn their backs when we struggle, but we can always be assured that the Lord will never leave us, nor forsake us. He is always fighting for us as we trust in him to lead us through his will. We must prepare for the battle that we will face and in Ephesians he details how we can protect ourselves:

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 5:13-19).

When we set goals in life, and follow through on a consistent basis to try to reach those goals; we can reach a level of peace that can’t be matched by any other means. If we will simply do God’s will and do what’s right, then, we can trust God even when our circumstances look bleak. People try to do the best that they can. In the church, we maintain an Apostolic lifestyle on a daily basis, and sometimes we are faced with obstacles that we can’t avoid. In these times, the Lord calls us to prayer. It is only through prayer and confidence in Jesus Christ that we are able to overcome the obstacles. They may seem like boulders in our thinking, but the Lord knows the plans that he has for us; and when the boulders come, we have a God who can break them apart, or give us the knowledge to climb over, or work our way through them.

When we are faced with dire circumstances, he is wise enough to let us work through it on our own; then, he helps us along the way. When we weep before him out of troubled frustration, we are learning how to lean on a God who understands and is faithful to us. Do not be discouraged when trying times come. It is a reminder to us, that God is able to deliver us. There is nothing that we need that he won’t supply, if we will only believe. Not everything that we go through will be pleasant, but it is so necessary to build our confidence that the Lord can and it will provide everything that we need. He gives us compassion for others. For when we overcome discouraging times, we also are able to build enough faith to touch God when we pray for others.

If we can stay true and faithful to God and to ourselves, we will be more than conquerors through his Word. We must pray and seek his will for our lives until he chooses to deliver us from the obstacles that block our path. We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord. May the peace of God restore you to spiritual health.

In this week’s Lattereign we are urged to not give up on God. Don’t Give Up on God!