And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Exodus 17:5-6
Not long ago, a man walked up to me after church and said, “Pastor, I’m worried I might not be saved.”
So I asked him, “Why?”
“Well,” he explained, “I’ve really been struggling with sin lately and have given in to temptation in some areas. Why would I be having such a tough time if I was really saved?”
So I told him, “The fact that you are doing battle with sin is evidence that you are saved!”
When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, God gave them a great victory when Moses struck the rock and water came out in the middle of the desert. He provided refreshing water for His people when they needed it most.
Now in 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul tells us that the rock that Moses struck is a representation of Jesus Christ, who was struck for our sins and out of his side flowed a river of blood and water.
So the children of Israel had been saved, delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. And they received the rock, which represents Christ. Then what happened? Immediately after they drank the water, they were attacked by Amalek. God gave Israel the rock of Christ and then called them to battle!
When you receive Christ and the Spirit of God takes up residence in you, a war begins. So let your struggles be a testimony to the fact that the Spirit of God is alive and active in your life!
WAGE WAR AGAINST SIN WITH CONFIDENCE BECAUSE STRUGGLES SHOW THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU.
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”
Psalm 76:7–10
William Tyndale set out with a simple goal—to translate the Bible into English so that the people could read for themselves what God had said. He believed that putting the Bible into the common language would expose and do much to correct the false doctrine preached from the pulpits of English churches. He was right—and he was hated for it. Tyndale spent much of his adult life on the run from the authorities. The story is told that when his first New Testament was published, the government bought up all the copies they could to keep people from reading them, but those profits provided the resources for Tyndale to continue his work and produce a more complete translation.
God does not promise that no one will oppose us when we set out to do something for Him. What He does promise is to go with us and meet our needs. Often God uses the very opposition we face as a crucial part of His plan for us to accomplish what He has set before us. If we become discouraged and give up when things don’t go as we would like or think they should, we will surely never accomplish anything of lasting value.
We should look for God’s hand in the opposition we face. We must never forget that He is able to turn even the worst circumstances to further His purposes. It was the persecution of the early church that God used to quickly spread the gospel around the world. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).
Today’s Growth Principle:
Do not shrink from opposition to your work for God; regard it as a sign that you’re on the right track
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