IS YOUR FAITH CRUSHED?
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Have you ever seen a mustard seed? Many years ago I wanted to show our standers the size of a mustard seed. In our monthly newsletter mail out, we enclosed a single mustard seed in a small plastic bag. We still know of standers who have their mustard seed packet in their Bible that they received quite a while ago.
At our recent September Rejoice Pompano Bible Study, I did a teaching that was titled, What Are You Sowing Into Your Marriage? At each seat, we had our prayer list, a new prayer card, and we had a mustard seed in a small plastic bag.Does your marriage, or your spouse’s divorce, or your teenager or young adult who is now rebelling against all your moral and Christian values look like impossible circumstances? How would you rate how much faith you have in God? Dear stander, that is the secret!
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,†he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.†“O unbelieving and perverse generation,†Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.†Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn't we drive it out?†He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.†Matthew 17:14-20
All you need is faith as small as a mustard seed to have any mountain of circumstance to be removed. Has the size of your mustard seed faith that God has already given you become crushed for marriage restoration? Your faith must grow and be rooted in deep, rich soil. It is like a mustard seed when mailed, it is fragile. Jesus said the mustard seed was the smallest seed, but when planted it becomes the largest of all garden plants. (Mark 4:30-32)
What do you do when your pastor declares, without biblical support, that you are in error? What do you do when a counselor, functioning in man’s wisdom, pronounces your marriage hopeless? What do you do when word filters back that the one you love has spoken “I do†to someone else? To the unprepared stander, any of these events could crush your faith. You must have faith in God alone!
Our mustard seeds mailing project was not a failure because the seeds were inside plastic. Even if they were crushed in the mail, they were still mustard seeds. Your faith in marriage restoration and family salvation are being protected by your Lord Jesus Christ, where no harm can come to the promises God has made to you.
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.†Matthew 21:21
Over the head of my bed hangs a large print of a mountain beside a sea. It isn’t a Thomas Kinkade painting, but an inexpensive picture I bought when I started standing and reading God’s Word. Nevertheless, that mountain and sea scene will never come down from our bedroom wall. I hung it over our bed when I was believing for a miracle of marriage restoration while Bob was planning his wedding. I stood on the promises of God and asked the Lord to increase my faith every day even if I had to wait until I was 80 sitting in a rocking chair. I was going to stand for God’s best and pray for my blinded, deceived husband forever.
Yes, Bob made every attempt to crush my faith, but I chose to believe in God’s Word and have total faith in God. Why? I knew that I could do nothing to change Bob’s heart, actions or plans, nor could I manipulate or beg Bob to come home for the sake of the children. His heart had become hardened. But I surrendered my heart and life to believing in the promises that the Lord had started speaking to me. My faith was rooted in God’s mighty power and in what the Lord had spoken to my heart that He would do at His perfect timing.
You can do the same. I did not see what God was doing on the other side of our mountain of divorce. Yes, everyone around me was attempting to crush my faith, just like you. Yes, the circumstances would try to make me doubt, just like you, except that I was being supported in my stand by Jesus, my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer. I would cry out daily for His wisdom and His strength. The Lord does not ever want your faith to be crushed, which is why you must read and know God’s Word and memorize specific promises that the Lord has given you personally. Will you stand firm in faith with God’s amazing grace, His love and faithfulness?
We praise the Lord for all the men and women who are praying for God to restore their marriages. Yes, how many times has your faith been tested or you are go through a trial where the enemy is trying to crush your faith. But God is greater! We often receive a Saturday testimony that tells about the difficult circumstances when Satan had attempted to crush your faith, but the stander kept their eyes focused on the Lord and kept standing firm in their faith, receiving victory in the end.
What should you do when your faith is crushed? Turn to Jesus. Cry out for His divine intervention in your crisis. He is the only One who can rescue you and speak His truth to your problem and hurting heart. Your Lord wants you to remember, like our mustard seeds even if crushed, are still viable faith when the Lord is right there beside you holding you up with His righteous right hand! Never give up on God having a mighty harvest of marriages being restored with all His mustard seeds of faith.
Lord, I pray that you will increase this stander’s faith, hope and trust in You regardless of any circumstance that the enemy is using to trying to defeat them. Lord, You can rout the enemy and give peace to this stander every day as they share with others the hope they have in You regarding their marriage being restored as they have total faith in their God! I pray for a sudden breakthrough in their spouse’s heart and life so this marriage will become a lighthouse of hope for other hurting marriages! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
“‘If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’†Isaiah 7:9
Believe and obey,
Charlyne Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Have you ever seen a mustard seed? Many years ago I wanted to show our standers the size of a mustard seed. In our monthly newsletter mail out, we enclosed a single mustard seed in a small plastic bag. We still know of standers who have their mustard seed packet in their Bible that they received quite a while ago.
At our recent September Rejoice Pompano Bible Study, I did a teaching that was titled, What Are You Sowing Into Your Marriage? At each seat, we had our prayer list, a new prayer card, and we had a mustard seed in a small plastic bag.Does your marriage, or your spouse’s divorce, or your teenager or young adult who is now rebelling against all your moral and Christian values look like impossible circumstances? How would you rate how much faith you have in God? Dear stander, that is the secret!
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,†he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.†“O unbelieving and perverse generation,†Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.†Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn't we drive it out?†He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.†Matthew 17:14-20
All you need is faith as small as a mustard seed to have any mountain of circumstance to be removed. Has the size of your mustard seed faith that God has already given you become crushed for marriage restoration? Your faith must grow and be rooted in deep, rich soil. It is like a mustard seed when mailed, it is fragile. Jesus said the mustard seed was the smallest seed, but when planted it becomes the largest of all garden plants. (Mark 4:30-32)
What do you do when your pastor declares, without biblical support, that you are in error? What do you do when a counselor, functioning in man’s wisdom, pronounces your marriage hopeless? What do you do when word filters back that the one you love has spoken “I do†to someone else? To the unprepared stander, any of these events could crush your faith. You must have faith in God alone!
Our mustard seeds mailing project was not a failure because the seeds were inside plastic. Even if they were crushed in the mail, they were still mustard seeds. Your faith in marriage restoration and family salvation are being protected by your Lord Jesus Christ, where no harm can come to the promises God has made to you.
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.†Matthew 21:21
Over the head of my bed hangs a large print of a mountain beside a sea. It isn’t a Thomas Kinkade painting, but an inexpensive picture I bought when I started standing and reading God’s Word. Nevertheless, that mountain and sea scene will never come down from our bedroom wall. I hung it over our bed when I was believing for a miracle of marriage restoration while Bob was planning his wedding. I stood on the promises of God and asked the Lord to increase my faith every day even if I had to wait until I was 80 sitting in a rocking chair. I was going to stand for God’s best and pray for my blinded, deceived husband forever.
Yes, Bob made every attempt to crush my faith, but I chose to believe in God’s Word and have total faith in God. Why? I knew that I could do nothing to change Bob’s heart, actions or plans, nor could I manipulate or beg Bob to come home for the sake of the children. His heart had become hardened. But I surrendered my heart and life to believing in the promises that the Lord had started speaking to me. My faith was rooted in God’s mighty power and in what the Lord had spoken to my heart that He would do at His perfect timing.
You can do the same. I did not see what God was doing on the other side of our mountain of divorce. Yes, everyone around me was attempting to crush my faith, just like you. Yes, the circumstances would try to make me doubt, just like you, except that I was being supported in my stand by Jesus, my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer. I would cry out daily for His wisdom and His strength. The Lord does not ever want your faith to be crushed, which is why you must read and know God’s Word and memorize specific promises that the Lord has given you personally. Will you stand firm in faith with God’s amazing grace, His love and faithfulness?
We praise the Lord for all the men and women who are praying for God to restore their marriages. Yes, how many times has your faith been tested or you are go through a trial where the enemy is trying to crush your faith. But God is greater! We often receive a Saturday testimony that tells about the difficult circumstances when Satan had attempted to crush your faith, but the stander kept their eyes focused on the Lord and kept standing firm in their faith, receiving victory in the end.
What should you do when your faith is crushed? Turn to Jesus. Cry out for His divine intervention in your crisis. He is the only One who can rescue you and speak His truth to your problem and hurting heart. Your Lord wants you to remember, like our mustard seeds even if crushed, are still viable faith when the Lord is right there beside you holding you up with His righteous right hand! Never give up on God having a mighty harvest of marriages being restored with all His mustard seeds of faith.
Lord, I pray that you will increase this stander’s faith, hope and trust in You regardless of any circumstance that the enemy is using to trying to defeat them. Lord, You can rout the enemy and give peace to this stander every day as they share with others the hope they have in You regarding their marriage being restored as they have total faith in their God! I pray for a sudden breakthrough in their spouse’s heart and life so this marriage will become a lighthouse of hope for other hurting marriages! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
“‘If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’†Isaiah 7:9
Believe and obey,
Charlyne Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
