THAT YOUR FAITH FAIL NOT

THAT THY FAITH FAIL NOT

Jesus told Peter one day that He had PRAYED FOR HIM. He had NOT prayed that Peter would stay out of trouble-- desirable as that may have been. He had NOT prayed that Peter would never become confused or disoriented along the way. He had NOT prayed that Peter would never stand at the place where the road forks, and wonder which way he should go. Rather, He had prayed that:

Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired [to have] you, that he may sift [you] as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that THY FAITH FAIL NOT: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Success, in our Christian walk, is not gaged by how well we avoid making mistakes and becoming confused or disoriented. Neither is our progress dependent upon how many times we fall or do not fall.

Matthew 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Psalms 94:18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.

Psalms 145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all [those that be] bowed down.

So many times we become discouraged with ourselves, as we endeavor to walk the walk of Faith (trusting Jesus for the welfare of our soul), because of our failings and fallings. But the Lord views them in an entirely different light.

Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

I Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].

We are admonished to jealously guard one thing. Not perfection-- not Spiritual correctness-- not avoiding mistakes and confusion, etc., but:

I Timothy 6:12 FIGHT the GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH, LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

The verb "fight" and the noun "good fight" both come from the Greek work from which we get our word "agony". It is often (more times than not) a painful experience when we struggle to hold on to our confidence that Jesus is willing and able to keep our soul from the destruction of hell, and bring us into victory.

II Timothy 4:7 I have FOUGHT a good FIGHT, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith:
Whatever you are struggling with today, HOLD ON TO YOUR FAITH IN JESUS!