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Amid life’s uncertainties, Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) members draw strength from God’s teachings to overcome hardships beyond their perceived limits.
LIKE OTHER PEOPLE, members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) also face debilitating situations as they are still on their journey in this world. The difference, though, is that while other people succumb to anxiety and depression and other psychological woes, the faithful Church members do not allow the hardships to dampen their faith and enthusiasm in their services to God. They constantly receive encouragement and inspiration from the Church Administration through the teachings of the Lord God and of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why do true Christians never allow any problems to hinder them from their services to God? In Luke 24:38, this is what is written:
“And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And for what reason are doubts arising in your hearts?’” (David Robert Palmer’s Gospels Translation)
The Lord Jesus Christ does not want His disciples to be troubled. He sees no reason for doubts to arise in their hearts. Despite uncertainties, true Christians should not be stressed out or be overcome by anxiety. Instead, they should have faith and trust in what God can do for them. Why is that?
“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” (Heb. 11:1 Living Bible)
Even if something seems impossible, a person who has faith in God has “confident assurance that something … is going to happen.” There is no doubt in his mind that what he hopes for is bound to happen.
In the midst of hopelessness and uncertainty, Church members should be active in their services to God and never abandon their election from Him because He has a promise to them and they can expect Him to fulfill it. However, like Abraham, they must prove first their firm faith in God.
Abraham exemplified a kind of faith worthy of imitation. He proved it to God by focusing not on his inability or incapacity but on what God can do for him:
“When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, ‘You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!’ Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, ‘It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.’ Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.” (Rom. 4:18−22 The Message)
Despite his condition and that of his wife, Abraham did not lose hope of becoming a father and having a big family because he trusted in God’s promises to him. Hence, Church Of Christ members ought to imitate Abraham’s faith. This is the reason the Church Administration always reminds them to abound in faith and hope.
But what if severe problems arise along the way? Is it a reason to give up on ones’ services to God especially now that uncertainties abound? Apostle Paul taught in Hebrews 6:19, 18, thus:
“We can be completely sure about what we hope for. God is like something really strong that does not move. When we hope, we fix our lives in God. We fix our lives like an anchor stops a boat moving away. The anchor holds that boat safely in the same place. When we hope, we reach behind the special curtain in God’s house in heaven. We reach into the Most Holy Room.
“These two facts cannot change. God can never say something that is not true. And these two facts cause us to feel strong and sure. We are like people who have run to God. We have run to God so that he can keep us safe. So, we must continue to hope strongly for what God has promised us.” (EasyEnglish Bible)
Although God’s servants sometimes are heavily burdened with so many problems, they should not lose hope and feel unsafe because God “can keep [them] safe.” All of the sufferings they endure are part of the spiritual process to keep their faith strong and pure (I Pet. 4:12−13 msg). They should always remember that God has promised all the good things to them and they should expect to receive them.
To receive God’s guidance, the Bible teaches how His children should prove their trust in Him:
“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” (Prov. 3:5–6 Amplified Bible 2015)
When faced with seemingly insurmountable problems, many people tend to seek help from their trusted friends or those whom they think are influential, sometimes forgetting that these people, too, have limited capabilities.
Meanwhile, others fully rely on their own skills and knowledge, but end up still struggling to solve their problems by themselves. This should not be the case for God’s people because He teaches them to “trust in and rely confidently” in Him. He is God Almighty. If the situation seems so heavy to carry on, God encourages the faithful to “acknowledge and recognize Him” for “He will make [their] paths straight and smooth.”
Moreover, in order to receive God’s promises and guidance, His faithful servants should have reverent fear of Him by not walking in darkness (Isa. 50:10 Amplified Bible), that is, shun all forms of evil. Therefore, as what the Church Administration always reminds them, they should uphold intensive and complete renewal of life. Despite the worsening condition of the world, they should fully obey all of God’s commandments and lead a holy life. In that way, they can show their complete trust and firm faith in Him.
Faithful members of the Church Of Christ understand that all the things happening in the world, even the worsening hardship, are the signs foretold in the Bible indicating that the end of the world draws near. That is why, according to Apostle Paul, they have to trust without any single bit of doubt that God will save them:
“Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the trouble we suffered in the country of Asia. We had great burdens there. The burdens were greater than our own strength. We even gave up hope for life. Truly in our own hearts we believed that we would die. But this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves. It happened so that we would trust in God, who raises people from death. God saved us from these great dangers of death. And God will continue to save us. We have put our hope in him, and he will continue to save us.” (II Cor. 1:8−10 Easy-to-Read Version)
Though faced with uncertainties of what tomorrow brings, God’s true servants are equipped with His teachings they continuously learn through the Church Administration that guides them in prevailing any hardships that they sometimes think bigger than their own strengths. Thus, whatever obstacles they may experience while still sojourning in this world, they trust God confidently with all their heart that He will save them not only from the great dangers in this world, but most importantly, from perdition on the Day of Judgment. ❑
