Never Give Up On God's Faithfulness!

Isaiah 40:31
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I am sure many of you have faced questions about God's ability or willingness to answer prayer at some point in your life.  Many of us have faced such questions recently, especially with the sudden passing of Zoe Grace Dunbar.  The tragedy came as a shock to all of us, and has brought the family of the church together in an incredible way to support, love and care for our dearest brother and sister Wade and Roxanne and their whole family.

In the midst of tragedies such as this, it is easy to point fingers at God.  And there is space to do so.  There were times when David cried out to God in ways many of us are afraid to do so.  Such tragedy drives that kind of emotion out.  And it is helpful to let it out.

But in this edition of the "encouragement", I want to encourage you all to never give up.  There have also been many people being afflicted with serious viral infections (like Chad and Dayna Parkes), others coming down with the flu and the list goes on.  It is clear we are under attack.  Friends, it is imperative in this time that we do not succumb to the lie of the enemy and abandon our faith in God's Goodness.

Our God is always good.  His Word declares it, and His Word is the highest authority for Truth.  The challenge is knowing this Truth but living in a seemingly different reality.  It is one of the biggest challenges living the Christian life faithfully; seeing what should be but experiencing a different reality.  (This is something I will hopefully touch on in my sermon on Sunday night).

My friend, as this verse declares, if you don't give up on hoping in the LORD, your strength will be renewed!  You will be given strength to face this life and rise on the wings of your Saviour.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray without giving up in Luke 18 when He told them of the parable of the persistant widow.  Friends, we too will not give up on the Goodness of our God!  He is Good!  Despite what our experiences tell us at this moment, our God is Good and His mercy endures forever!  And it is with this heart that we will encourage and offer our deepest love to people like Wade and Roxanne, and Trevor and Chan, and the many others we will come across who have faced such extreme trial.  Our hearts go out to you our amazing friends, we love you with all our hearts.

We will never give up.

Joshua 1:5
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
(6) “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.

What a promise from God!  Wow.  Think about that for a second...  "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life."  No one.  Those are big words.  Nothing can come up against you!  It doesn't matter what you face, when you are walking in the purposes of God for your life, nothing can stand in your way.

Now, I know that the above phrase can cast a bit of doubt in people's hearts, and cause them to ask "how do I know I am walking in the purposes of God?"  Well, my answer to that is simple...  Jesus said to us in Matthew 6 that if we "seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness all these things will be added unto us."  I have a very basic rule of thumb in life, I ensure God is first in my life.  His Kingdom always comes first.  And I follow my heart after that.  He's in me, and I trust the decisions I make to be His when He is first!

Now, that's another topic altogether, but let me also just say, when you have a revelation that you are deeply Loved by the Creator of the Universe and are His Beloved Child, it is easy to make Him first.  And when He is first, you will walk in His purposes easier than you think!  And when walking in His purposes, nothing can stand up against you.

You may have pressures and difficulties, like Paul and Silas did in prison, you may face retrenchment or sickness, whatever the trial may be.  But God's Word is clear, it will not stand up against you.  It may intimidate, it may get in your way, but it cannot stand against you.  Eventually, it must and will be removed!

Your God will never leave you nor forsake you, He is with you always.  No matter what it is that you are facing right now, or have to face in the future, know that it cannot be victorious, and won't be victorious.  You may find yourself swimming out in the open seas after a shipwreck or stuck in jail like Paul was, or in a Lion's Den like Daniel, or being pursued by an enemy (Saul) like David...  But if you find the courage from this Message that your God will never leave you nor forsake you, and that it won't end this way, and you don't give up...  like them, you too will see victory!


Thought for the weekend:  Too many battles have been abandoned because the child of God didn't realise that the victory would be theirs if they didn't give up.

In Honour of Richard Baasch

2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18
Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This week, along with his own family and friends, the family of Highway lost a precious friend.  Richard Baasch passed away on the morning of Tuesday 7 February 2012 peacefully.  This post is dedicated to, and inspired by, Richard.  May what our Heavenly Father has placed on my heart today inspired by Richard's life inspire you in whatever it is that you have faced in this life, or are facing right now.

Some of you may not know Richard, but many of you will.  Either way, he is been a faithful and joyful member of the Highway family for almost two decades, and his presence will be missed among us.  The challenges that he faced and the way in which he faced and overcame them are well worth dedicating this post to.

Richard was commonly seen in the front rows of the church, walking to them before the service began using his walking aide.  For those that don't know, Richard has battled to walk ever since he was hit by a car in his matric year about four decades ago.  Many said he should've died, but through constant prayer and the declaration of God's Life throughout his life, he overcame every challenge possible to lead as normal a life as possible.

Obviously, when one has a deep conviction from Scripture that God wants people physically well and healthy, it is difficult to see others (especially friends and family) in pain or battle in this life.  I don't believe we should ever stop praying, or accept it as God's will (Scripture is too overwhelming to do that) but we also recognise that there is the reality of trials when living in a fallen world.  (Bill Johnson says that these are the sufferings the Bible talks about in Scripture - the tension of knowing the Truth of God's Word verse the facts that we often face everyday).

And this is why I have highlighted this passage here today...  The more we know the Truth of what is happening (and has happened) to us in the Spiritual Realm, the more hope we get.  These momentary troubles associated with this fallen world are seen by God, and I am convinced they will be comforted and honoured by Him when we see Him in His fullness!  The Father will remember those trials we went through, and He will encourage us beyond what we could ever imagine. This is a Glorious Day to look forward to!

I am very careful to highlight the fact that all the Glory of the God is reserved for that day in the future, because I think the church for too long has put off so many of the Promises of God for the future.  While I believe the revelation of the Fullness of the Glory of God is a Day well worth looking forward to, I also believe a lot more of God's Promises are available now than we realise!

But it is in times like these that we turn to the Truth that some of our best days are on the other side of this life.  And how happy I am sure Richard would be about that!  It was this Hope that kept him going.  And it is his example that we can take encouragement from.

When we realise the Love of our Father, and what He will do for us on the other side of this life for the challenges we have faced, it will inspire and encourage us to get through anything!  We can receive the trials that we face today with a confidence that God sees them, and won't forget them.  Our Loving Father will never forget what we went through!

So friends, I want to encourage you and remind you today...  what awaits us on the other side of this often troubled life is a Life free from all pain, sorrow and grief!  What a Hope we have!  What a Day to look froward to!

Like Richard, may this Truth inspire you to face your trials head-on and with joy!  Knowing your Dad won't let you down!

Richard Baasch, thank you for the inspiration that your life was.  We will always remember it.  We look forward to seeing you in Glory.

Sorrow Is Temporary, Joy Is Eternal

Psalm 30:4 - 5
Sing to the Lord, you saints of His;
praise His Holy Name.
For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Many of us know this verse, especially the last part.  But it is a pity that "familiarity breeds contempt".  We become so accustomed to a saying or verse, that it can lose its power.  As Christians, we need to be so careful of this unfortunate reality.  Take John 3:16 for example, it is one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture, yet because we know it so well, the power in its truth seems to have less of an impact on us.  We need fresh revelation to regain the power in these verses.  I believe this is what the Grace Revolution is all about.  But that's for another day and another article.

The point is, don't let the power of this verse here be watered down by familiarity.  It is a powerful truth!  Let's have a look at it...

God's anger only lasts for a moment, but His Favour lasts for a lifetime!  Isn't that stunning?  Now, put this into the context of God's plan, and we see that this is a clear picture of the Cross.  God's anger is not as infinite and eternal as His Love, Grace or Favour.  God is by very Nature Loving, Good and Kind.

Now, that is not to water down the danger or severity of sin.  But we need to recognise that God's anger and punishment was dealt with because He Himself absorbed all sin and death into the body of His own Son Jesus.  (In fact, He absorbed it Himself because He was in Christ at the time of the Crucifixion! 2 Cor. 5:19)   Friends, God's anger toward sin has been appeased!  He took it upon Himself and dealt with it!  Now what remains are eternal days of Favour!

But you may not be living in days of Favour.  Well, this is why the next verse is so important; "sorrow lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning."  Friends, sorrow is temporal!  We must understand that we will go through trials in this life.  It won't be easy.  There will be times when life is tough.  But the good news is that there will be breakthrough!  Joy will come!  No matter what we are facing, we can be confident that eternal days of Joy and Favour will come to us!  Whether it is in this life or the next, either way, we will enjoy eternal days of Joy!  This is what Heaven is all about; JOY!

Friends, with such a hope, it is so much easier to face this life.  No matter what we are going through we can face it with an expectant hope that God promises us days of Favour and Joy.  This brings such hope to any situation.

I know that many of us face trials over this Christmas holiday period.  But be encouraged that God cares for you more than you know.  And He wants you to know that any stress or difficulty you may be facing is only temporal, and there is a joy that you can even tap into right now that lasts for eternity!