No matter what happens to us, we are grounded in our faith in Jesus. Regardless of the trials and tribulations in life, we are grounded in our faith. We know what awaits us at the end of our time here on earth. We know that we have Christ as our means to the forgiveness of sin and to a relationship with God.
The unsaved don’t know the peace and rest they are missing in Jesus. They don’t understand how we can stand strong in the face of adversity. They say we worship a god that doesn’t exist. We know the reality of God and the reality of what He offers to those that are saved through grace and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, which is forgiveness of our sins and a relationship with our Father and eternity with Him.
We will face tribulations and trials in our lives. Our faith in God helps us stand fast against adversity with a knowledge that He will never leave or forsake us (Deut. 31:8). We can stand against hate towards us and stand against the attempts of the world to destroy us. The world can do whatever it wants towards us and not affect us because we are grounded in our faith in God and His Son.
The world does not like us and what we stand for. We stand for the peace and love of God and the salvation offered as a free gift from Jesus (Eph. 28-9). He is the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) of our faith and hope of eternity with Him. The world? Their foundation is sand on a cliff destined to fall to hell. The unsaved wallow in their ever-changing values and beliefs while ours is steadfast and true.
Truth for the world is whatever society says is truth. The truth of the world ebbs and flows with the whims of those in power and their version of the truth depending on the season. They hold tight to the lies of Satan through their worship of worldly things. They hate us because we don’t conform to the world. They make their belief in false truth to become facts to support their evil agenda.
The saved that are grounded through the Word of God are becoming a minority in this nation and the world. There is a declination of attendance in churches and the preaching of salvation from Jesus by church leaders. The Book of Acts shows us what and how a church should operate, and there is a falling away from the standards put forth in the Word. Churches now offer messages that tickle the ear and trade truth for feel-good messages that avoid the truth in the Word (2 Tim 4:3).
The Bible has some hard truths in it about salvation. Most don’t even talk about salvation and sin or the need for Jesus in their lives but give messages to make people feel good about themselves. People need to read the Bible themselves to test the words of preachers and to grow in their knowledge and understanding, to grow in their relationship with Jesus (Rom 10:17,1 Jn 4:1).
Being grounded in faith takes a lot of effort because we are at war with evil (Eph 6:12). Satan uses his influence on the world and society to disrupt the faith of the faithful and to keep the unsaved away from Christ. Satan knows the Bible better than any man and will twist and turn the message of God to his advantage, not ours. He is the father of lies (Jn 8:44), and we must be grounded in our faith to resist and overcome him.
When we are grounded in our faith, we can and will overcome the wiles of Satan (James 4:7). We can use the truth of the Word to stomp the lies he puts forth. It is through the power of the Word of God that we can keep Satan at bay in our lives. It is through our faith that we can hold tight to the promises of God, not the promises of the world.
The world offers tempting things to us. But when we are grounded in our faith, it won’t matter. Temptations will come and go but the Word of God is everlasting in terms of eternity (Ps 90:2). Will it be hard to overcome temptations at times? Yes, it will, but with a strong foundation in our faith, we can resist; and as our faith grows, our roots in God will run deeper so we will be able to overcome new and old temptations that overshadow us each day.
If one is not grounded in faith, if they are weak in faith, then they will be more susceptible to the lies of Satan. It is important to be more and more grounded in faith each day. We need to renew our minds (Rom 12:2) each day and pray to God to increase our faith. We do this not only through prayer, but through reading of the Word. The Word gives us everything we need to know about living in this hostile world. Everything the world throws at us is addressed in the Word.
There are those that say the Bible is outdated or made up. The saved know differently. They know that the Bible is true, timeless, and the lessons and guidance are just as applicable today as they were when they were written (1 Tim 3:16). Sure, the world has changed, but man has not. Man is still rebellious in nature. We inherited this trait through the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve (Rom 5:12). Yet, as we are grounded in our faith, we can fight and resist this nature.
Satan will want you to explore the world and taste temptations. He wants man to fall and fail to such an extent that they won’t even recognize that they are sinning. Sin? Sin is everything contrary to God’s Word. He cannot even look at sin (Isa 59:2). Only through our repentance of our sins and acceptance and faith of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (past, present, and future) can we have a relationship with God.
Don’t take your grounding in faith for granted though. Don’t be relaxed in this world. There is a spiritual battle going on all around, and we are in the thick of it. By neglecting our faith, we can slide back in our relationship with God. Yes, once you accept the gift of Grace through Christ’s sacrifice for your sins, you are saved, but it doesn’t mean to live life as you did before you came to Christ (Rom 6:23).
Once you are saved, you are a new creature (2 Cor 5:17); and with that comes a changed life. Life will change, and you will view the world through a new lens completely opposite of what you did before you accepted Salvation. Your view of life will be grounded in your new faith. Your reality will change from that of a sinner to a saved sinner. Your faith will support you, and you will be with God and His Son in eternity.
The Holy Spirit will guide you in maintaining and growing your grounding in faith (2 Pet 3:18). The Holy Spirit is our Helper sent by Jesus to aid and guide us in truth (Acts 2:38, Jn 15:6). Being grounded in faith will assure you have the Holy Spirit to speak to you and give you the unction to live for Christ and avoid temptations that leads to sin.
Being grounded in faith comes through the acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (Rom 10:9). Once you accept Him as your Savior, life changes. Will there be hard times? Yes, there will be. But when you are grounded in faith, you will have and know that regardless of how or what you feel, God is there and our hope and faith in Him is not for nil.