{"id":2594,"date":"2021-02-15T20:10:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T01:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2594"},"modified":"2025-04-17T16:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T20:45:09","slug":"kept-day-and-night-even-when-we-feel-unprotected-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=2594","title":{"rendered":"Our Highest Joy (Mustering Our Faith) (Republished In the Moments)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do not\u00a0fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.<\/em> I will strengthen you, surely\u00a0I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous\u00a0right hand (Isaiah 41:10<\/strong> NASB)<\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t take a pandemic and a nation marred in disunity to render us faint at heart. Life can be discouraging even without that stuff.<\/p>\n

\u00a0And when we get a full dose and need to pause to catch our breath, life keeps on coming at us. To remain courageous, we must muster our faith.<\/p>\n

Muster<\/strong> \u2013 to assemble troops as for a battle, to gather, to summon, to rouse<\/em><\/p>\n

On a regular basis, we have repeated opportunities to gather and summon our faith. Like workouts in the gym, rousing our trust, when things aren\u2019t smooth, builds muscle memory and strengthens our faith.<\/p>\n

How do we muster our faith when we feel weak and God seems distant? Following are a few musts<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We Must<\/em> Remember God\u2019s Sovereignty<\/strong><\/h3>\n

God is always in control. His purposes can\u2019t be thwarted. He\u2019s able to work all things together for His greater purposes.[1] Even the very hard situations we face are no surprise to God. In His omnipotence, the sinful choices by men, the state of this fallen world and the schemes of the enemy can not change what God is doing.<\/p>\n

Joseph told his brothers, \u201cAnd<\/em> <\/span>as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.\u201d<\/span>[2]<\/em> \u00a0<\/p>\n

God used Jonah\u2019s disobedience to illicit praise from the folks on the ship to Tarashish.[3]<\/p>\n

The evil intent of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus led to the salvation of all men.<\/p>\n

God has entrusted us with each circumstance we\u2019re in and desires us to trust Him and not our own understanding of our situations.[4]<\/p>\n

We Must<\/em> Orient Our Lives from God\u2019s Greater Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Paul tells believers that since we have been raised up with Christ, we\u2019re to set our minds on things above, not on things of the earth.[5]<\/p>\n

We need to see our lives from an eternal perspective, knowing God is at work for our greater good. He\u2019s working all things for the purpose of conforming us into the image of Christ, not for us to experience a smooth ride.[6] It\u2019s vital for us to understand this. If not, we can view God as a distant dictator, out to destroy our hopes and dreams.<\/p>\n

We need to live now with the end in mind. Being more like Christ is what this life is about, not temporal happiness. For we died and our life is now hidden in Christ.[7]<\/p>\n

We Must<\/em> Realize Being with God is Our Highest Joy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Bible has an overarching theme, woven into the fabric from Genesis to Revelation. Us being with God<\/em>. We were created for fellowship with Him.<\/p>\n

David, wrote that even in the shadow of death, he would not be afraid because He knew God was with him.[8] He also wrote that in God\u2019s presence, joy is full.[9]<\/p>\n

\u00a0After crying out to God concerning the unfairness of life, Asaph concluded that God\u2019s nearness was his good, not his lot in life.[10]<\/p>\n

From a Roman prison Paul repeatedly instructed us to be full of joy in the Lord. Not just when we feel like it, but at all times.[11]<\/p>\n

We Must<\/em> Remember God\u2019s Love for us Never Fails<\/strong><\/h3>\n

No matter how often we fall short in actions and faith, God\u2019s love for us never fails, it’s everlasting.[12] His lovingkindness never ceases. His mercies are new every morning.[13]<\/p>\n

\u00a0As believers, we are His children, a fact established before the world began.[14] Nothing can separate us from His great love.[15] His love for us can be described as deeper and wider and longer than an ocean and higher than the heavens. It surpasses our ability to comprehend.[16]<\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Lord, we come to You now. You know the place we\u2019re in. You\u2019re not surprised by any of it. You\u2019re with us and have allowed it for our greater good. Help us not to doubt Your ways. May we draw near to You and walk in utter dependence upon You. We were never to face these things alone. We depend upon Your strength in our weakness. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>And He said to me,\u00a0<\/em>\u2018My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0Therefore most gladly\u00a0I will rather boast in my infirmities,\u00a0that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\u00a0Therefore\u00a0I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ\u2019s sake.\u00a0For when I am weak, then I am strong.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/span>[17]<\/em> The Apostle Paul<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

[1] Ephesians 1:9-12<\/p>\n

[2] Genesis 50:20 (NASB)<\/p>\n

[3] Jonah 1:14-16<\/p>\n

[4] Proverbs 3:5-6<\/p>\n

[5] Colossians 3:1-2<\/p>\n

[6] Romans 8:28-29<\/p>\n

[7] Colossians 3:3<\/p>\n

[8] Psalm 23:4<\/p>\n

[9] Psalm 16:11b<\/p>\n

[10] Psalm 73, 73:28<\/p>\n

[11] Philippians 3:1, 4:4<\/p>\n

[12] Jeremiah 31:3<\/p>\n

[13] Lamentations 3:22-23<\/p>\n

[14] Ephesians 1:4-5<\/p>\n

[15] Romans 8:35<\/p>\n

[16] Ephesians 3:14-19<\/p>\n

[17] 2 Corinthians 12:9-10<\/p>\n

Previous posts in the series – Our Highest Joy:<\/span><\/p>\n

Unmasking the Lie<\/a><\/p>\n

Dealing with sadness and disappointment<\/a><\/p>\n

Eternal Thanksgiving<\/a><\/p>\n

Fueled by the Joy of Jesus<\/a><\/p>\n

God with Us<\/a><\/p>\n

Fixing Our Hope<\/a><\/p>\n

Remaining Cheerful<\/a><\/p>\n

Not My Will<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/em>Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.<\/em><\/p>\n

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Novels by the Author:<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond Time<\/a><\/p>\n

Hope Remains<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It doesn\u2019t take a pandemic and a nation marred in disunity to render us faint at heart. Life can be discouraging even without that stuff.<\/p>\n

\u00a0And when we get a full dose and need to pause to catch our breath, life keeps on coming at us. To remain courageous, we must muster our faith.<\/p>\n

Muster \u2013 to assemble troops as for a battle, to gather, to summon, to rouse<\/p>\n

On a regular basis, we have repeated opportunities to gather and summon our faith. Like workouts in the gym, rousing our trust when things aren\u2019t smooth builds muscle memory and strengthens our faith.<\/p>\n

How do we muster our faith when we\u2019re weak and God seems distant? <\/p>\n

Following are a few musts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2101,2102],"tags":[2119,2113,2083,1507,1857,1007,420,2092,423,2107,1824,411,2076,616,873,326,698,2105,1972,1718,2005,1049,2114,2032,2078,343,2095,2106,2085,1305,2115,2017,1500,945,1414,170,39,1491,58,851,1047,1600,2103,1050,510,2111,2116,7,950,419,1934,2118,2109,2108,2012,1072,2104,2117,318,307,1807,774,1946,1557,1938,2087,1851,1215,2112,1307,1990,1063],"class_list":["post-2594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-strengthening-our-faith","category-when-god-seems-distant","tag-2-corinthians-129-10","tag-asaph","tag-brought-near","tag-circumstances","tag-colossians-33","tag-comforter","tag-complete-joy","tag-completely-righteous","tag-courage","tag-courageous","tag-covid-19","tag-death-row","tag-debtfree","tag-delight","tag-delight-in-god","tag-difficulties","tag-discouragement","tag-disunity","tag-draw-near","tag-empty-ourselves","tag-enduring-joy","tag-ephesians-14-5","tag-ephesians-19-12","tag-eternal-god","tag-eternal-seperation","tag-eternity","tag-experienced-joy","tag-faint-at-heart","tag-forgiven","tag-forgiveness","tag-genesis-5020","tag-god-with-us","tag-gods-greater-good","tag-gods-greater-purposes","tag-gods-image","tag-gods-love","tag-gods-nearness","tag-gods-perspective","tag-gods-presence","tag-gods-taking-care-of-me","tag-grasping-gods-love","tag-greater-purposes","tag-isaiah-4110","tag-jeremiah-313","tag-jesus-christ","tag-jonah","tag-jonah-114-16","tag-joy","tag-joy-in-his-presence","tag-joyful-heart","tag-keep-close","tag-lamentations-322-23","tag-muscle-memory","tag-muster","tag-our-highest-joy","tag-overflowing-joy","tag-pandemic","tag-philippians-31","tag-philippians-44","tag-psalm-1611","tag-psalm-234","tag-psalm-7328","tag-refreshment-in-god","tag-romans-828-29","tag-satisfied-with-christ","tag-saved-by-his-life","tag-sealed-with-the-holy-spirit","tag-strengthen-faith","tag-tarashish","tag-the-blood-of-jesus","tag-the-holy-spirit","tag-trusting-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2594"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6886,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594\/revisions\/6886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}