Open Skies

Even with "prosperity gospel" televangelism past its gilded age, the idea that "becoming a Christian will solve all your problems" still surfaces frequently, thanks largely to believers who "have it good" in the worldly sense but are usually shallow in their spiritual development. There are still many communities where going to church is a mark of the prominent and respectable--but are these really the strongest Christians? It takes plenty of resistance to build muscle. And a serious reading of the Bible and history reveals that the greatest saints faced the most opposition and struggle.

If you're anything like me, your first reaction to that may be, "If it takes hard times to make a strong Christian, I'd as soon stay weak!" But virtually no one who has accepted the struggle has later regretted it. And believers who are "content" to stay weak often find their lives sadly lacking in contentment.

Not that this is a one-time decision where we say, "Okay, God, make me strong!," take one tough test, and can relax from then on. Often, our only immediate reward for coming through a struggle, is harder struggles--and even seemingly unshakable Christians have given up and backslid into worldly living. If we truly want to be the best Christians we can be, we have to renew our commitment, and tap into the Source, virtually every day.

We must trust God to show us the tasks of each moment--and to give us strength for each task. Our hardest times are often the times we eventually most thank Him for.

When torrents of pain pour upon you,
And mists from the rain blur your sight,
When even to breathe is a struggle,
And even the noon dark as night,
Remember that even in blackness,
God still makes a pathway ahead:
What seems like the flood that would drown you
May be showers of blessing instead.

When each onward step is a struggle
Through waters as deep as your chest,
When currents keep pushing against you,
With never a moment for rest,
Remember that strength comes from striving,
And go where your Savior has led:
What seems like the flood that would drown you
May be showers of blessing instead.

As sure as the flood-days of Noah
Let mankind get started again,
As sure as the Cross made a pathway
For all who were slaves to their sin,
As sure as salvation of thousands
Has sprung where the martyrs have bled,
What seems like the flood that would drown you
May be showers of blessing instead.