Sticking with Jesus when times are tough
11 June 2021
Jesus called some of his disciples with one simple command: Follow Me.
43The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. – John 1:43-45
In some cases, He added a promise to the command:
18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. – Matthew 4:18-22
One could wonder what made all of these young men simply give up what they were doing and what they had, to follow a Man they hardly knew. Maybe there was something in Jesus’ voice that was commanding, yet soft, that made them sense that they were about to embark on a journey that would change their lives as well as that of many others.
As the years went on, millions more would heed the call, many doing so in the face of severe persecution. Most stayed true to the call, others fell by the wayside. Those who endured, counted their own lives of little value compared to the Life they found in Jesus.
It is easy to say you will follow Jesus when things are going well. There are times though when the voice you once heard seems to have become silent, drowned out by the noise of the world. In these times we may wonder if it is all still worth it. As I am writing this, my faith is being severely tested. Bombarded from all sides by the unbelievable deception around us, it is so easy to lose focus. And herein lies the problem. We all know the incident on the Sea of Galilee when Peter walked on the water. He accomplished an amazing feat, defying the laws of nature – water surface tension and gravity – and the feeling must have been surreal, until he took his eyes from Jesus and looked at the reality of the storm around him. When you focus on the situation around you, it is almost as if you become like a natural man again:
14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. – 1 Corinthians 2:14
Yet you were called to follow Jesus and be the spiritual man God designed you to be:
15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. – 1 Corinthians 2:15
As spiritual people we have the ability to judge all things, look at the situation and see through the problems, ahead where Jesus is walking. He would not have said “Follow Me.” if He was not truly going to lead us and lead us all the way to the end.
We are being attacked from all sides today, as said earlier on. We have to withstand the storm waves on the sea. The media especially tries, often successfully, to lure us with false promises, the ones that are just too good to be true. The spiritual man judges them and sees them for what they are. There are also those promises that just look so good. Test them to see if they are in line with the Word of God. They probably are not, so do not step into the trap.
Let us take comfort from an old psalm, one we probably learnt at school as kids:
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. – Psalm 23
Here’s my modern English take on this psalm: When Jesus Christ is my shepherd, He takes care of me and I have everything that I need. He prepares safe places for me to rest, recover and regroup. He guides me to lead a quiet life in Him, away from the noise of the world, and removes any doubts I have about who I am in Him. He leads me to make the right choices because of the promises He has made that He will never leave me nor forsake me. Even though troublesome times are often in my path, He guides me through them and is with me. I do not have to fear the world and its evil forces. His Word gives direction, loving correction, and comforts me. I will succeed when the enemy wants me to fail, and He gives abundant victory to me, to their shame. I am anointed by His Holy Spirit, and I have His living water flowing from within me. I do not have to stress as His goodness is always with me. Even in this life I reside in His presence. Imagine when I am in heaven with Him forever…
Conclusion
Maybe it is time that we make a conscious effort to look to Him for guidance instead of looking around us for answers in the lies that the world feeds us. Whatever your current crisis or fear is, know that He is with you, always. This was His final promise to us before His ascension:
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. – Matthew 28:19-20