Life audio
 welcome to crosswalk the devotional for so glad to have you with us today
 today's topic looks at our walk with God every Christian will go through trials and the good news is we don't have to face them alone
 we'll be right back with our devotional after a brief message from our sponsor
 how do we walk with God by Anne Peterson read by Anne Peterson
 Colossians 2 six through seven so then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord continue to live your lives in him read it and built up in him strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness
 I still remember the day I accepted the Lord I want from hoping I would one day go to heaven to knowing I'd go to heaven it stopped being about me and what I did and didn't do and instead was about the Lord Jesus and all he did
 I was immediately instructed to get into the Bible where I'd learn about God's character our Bible teacher Louis didn't give us a pair of rose-colored glasses and hand out platitudes When we struggle this baby Christians I remember a time she would say smile it's going to get worse was that a pessimistic view know she wanted us to know that there would be trials coming and she was right about that among other things those were wise words lowest taught us words I've never forgot but honestly it doesn't mean I didn't sometimes question God when going through difficult times times that seemed impossible most people question God at one time or another
 and yet being in God's word was the best place to be to get prepared for the trials of life does the Bible have specific answers to what we will face I can tell you this the Bible teaches us all about God's character and when we learned that we know that we can face whatever is before us for he is with us will it be easy no but we won't have to face it alone
 when I was younger in the Lord I thought the verse for today meant we receive Christ by faith so we just need to walk in him like that by faith and well faith is the key to unlock the door the rest of the first explains how were to do that
 rooted and built up in him there's no way to be rooted up in Christ without going through trials and as things we Face become difficult Our Roots go a little deeper we learn to trust in God's ability not our own and sometimes that's a hard lesson to learn we may not be capable of handling the things before us but our God can he tells us to cast our burdens before him psalm 55:22
 often we take on things that were not meant for us to carry but nothing is too big for our father's hands when we trust in the Lord he honors that trust and we are built up not in ourselves which would make us proud but instead we learn that God is the one who gives us strength and power when we merely have five stones and a slingshot like David we can face H Goliath because God is with us
 strengthened in the face
 we can't get strengthened in faith without learning how to flex our faith muscles just like the strength of a ship is not known without going through storm when we go through hard times we experience that God is always bigger than what we face he is after all.
 Overflowing with thankfulness I don't know about you but I have a hard time with this part of the verse it sounds a lot like the verse that tells us to give thanks in all circumstances 1st Thessalonians 5 16 through 18
 does it mean when you've lost a loved one you are to thank.
 I believe we need to thank God for who he is even when we don't understand what is happening
 God understands and that's enough
 even when I've stood before the graves of those I've lost which I've done many times I knew I was not alone God promised me that in his word and God always keeps his promises
 intersecting faith and life
 one thing that's helpful in growing our faith muscles is to look back on times that were difficult and to remind ourselves how God brought us through those times David was good at doing that the enemy of our souls tries to convince us that this time is different and that God is tired of helping us
 the Bible tells us that God is immutable he doesn't change and he never grows tired or weary Isaiah 40:28
 how do we walk with God one step at a time
 we learn to walk in his steps and when we're unsure of our next step we can be thankful God already knows
 Lord help me to trust you when I'm not sure what to do next thank you that you are never on sure
 thank you for your word which can light my path when things seem so dark for further reading to the study of kastenberg you'll find at least 42 versus read Proverbs 3 5 & 6 read my article on crosswalk God makes himself known even when he is silent by Anne Peterson
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