Taking a Stand of Faith

Luke 18:6-8

Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God grant justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay to help them? I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on earth?”

Jesus taught a parable about a persistent widow who cried out repeatedly against her adversary to an unjust judge. The unjust judge finally honored her persistent complaint because he became tired of hearing her. He was not concerned about her well-being or about bringing justice to her situation.  He merely wanted to get her off his back. If the unjust judge will eventually honor persistence, how much more will our holy and just God honor the persistence of His chosen people who cry out to him repeatedly?

To cry out repeatedly as she did, this widow had to have taken a stand. She would not allow her adversary to take advantage of her without a strong fight. She took her stand to the only person who could do anything about it – an unjust judge who did not care anything about her.

We serve a God who loves us so much He gave His only Son to die for us. We can certainly trust His heart toward us. When our enemy wages war against us, do we truly take a stand against him in crying out to God? This Scripture suggests that too many of us give in to the enemy when we don’t see immediate results.

We often think of attacks of the enemy as trials or problems. While the enemy can certainly cause problems for us, he most often attacks us in the form of temptation.

Instead of taking a stand against temptation, we succumb to it because we think God is not really concerned about our circumstances enough to intervene when we want or the way we want. If we are more concerned about meeting our current emotional urge than receiving God’s best in our situation, we will fall to temptation and fail to take a stand of faith.

Jesus questioned whether or not He would find faith on this earth when He returned. Will there be anyone still believing Christ will come again when He comes to rule and reign on this earth? Will there be anyone still fighting for the family when Jesus comes to restore it? Will there be anyone still believing in a dream when Jesus comes to fulfill it? Will we give up everything we’ve held near and dear and settle for the temptation the Devil hands us as an unfit alternative?

Dare to stand firm in your faith. Cry out to God, especially when the Devil attacks you with temptation. God has so much more for us, and any temptation the Devil sends your way is only a cheap imitation of something real God has in store for you. Press through with persistence, and allow faith to take you into the fullness of a loving, holy, and just God. His provision is worth the wait!

Have a blessed day!