I need to hear from you, oh Lord.
It seems as if something has gone wrong.
The winds of sin are buffeting my soul.
Lord, I’m struggling hard to remain strong.
I need to hear from you, oh Lord.
Please, reveal to me your loving care.
You’ve placed me on this path in life.
Now, remind me why you’ve placed me here.
I need to hear from you, oh Lord.
Sometimes I feel like I just want to runaway.
You’ve place me here for a reason, I know.
Lord, please supply me with the strength to stay.
I need to hear from you, oh Lord.
Hard people beckon me to do what is wrong.
Surrounded by anger and fueled by strife,
Lord, send me your help so I can remain strong.
As the men and women of God, we live a life of self-denial. Although we carry the banner of Christ, we are subject to daily afflictions, trails, tests, and tribulations. In spite these struggle, we are expected march on toward the higher calling of God. God expects us to do this not because we are supermen or superwomen in faith. God requires us to do this because we must bear our cross as we continue to do the will of God. We must endure the hardships placed in our way because all things, including our hardships, work together for the good of those that love the Lord and who are called according to his purpose.
Nevertheless, always remember in life the race is not given to the swift. The race is not given to the strong. It is awarded to the ones that endure to the end. Sometimes the trials and troubles we must endure seem too hard for us to bear. The raging tide of troubles does often come to destroy the peace in our minds. However, the mature man and woman of God see them only as a blessed opportunity. See, we understand that every trial, temptation, and test are an opportunity for us to grow in our faith walk with God.
As the men and women of God, we grow when we deny our lives for the sake of Christ and His work. We grow as we introduce others to a new and an eternal life in Jesus, the Christ. As the men and women of God, we understand that wealth, honor, and pleasure gained by denying Christ or neglecting to do what he commissioned us to do, are useless to us. They are useless because we run for a higher calling that is in Christ Jesus. That calling is a commission to be the type of men and women God created us to be. Men and women of God that is not afraid to lay down their lives to serve their God because God has promised to order our steps.
Because of this promise, God will use everything that we go through to develop us into the mighty men and woman of God. He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death to give us a testimony to share with other trying to find their way out. He permits the imps of Lucifer to buffet our souls for the night to teach us what it feels like when joy comes in the morning. He places us in the midst of the fiery furnace to prove to us that he will never leave us nor forsake us. Revelation 12: 11 states, ‘They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.’ God orders the steps of the righteous through not around pain, trial, temptations, and sufferings to equip us with the necessary testimony to overcome Lucifer.
Therefore, let us be joyful, whenever we face trials of any kind, because when our faith is tested, we develop perseverance. Perseverance gives us the determination to remain firm in our faith in spite of the thousands that are demolished at our right side. Perseverance is the resolve to remain focused on our faith walk in spite of the tens of thousands that falls by the wayside. It instills in us the urgency to finish the race of the high calling of God, so we can become mature and complete. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life God has promised to those who love him.
