by Pat Nordman

We get so discouraged some days. Others don't cooperate as we would like; we don't feel too well; the weather is too cold or too hot or too wet, and on and on. At times we wonder if it is worth the struggle.

"All that we have accomplished you [Lord] have done for us" (Isaiah 26:12). Thank You, God! What a gift it is to have confidence and trust in God that He will carry us through to the completion of our life. ". . .It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13).

Our faith gives us the endurance necessary to win the victory in Christ. There is a work for us to do, though: "What good is it. . .if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" (James 2:14). It takes the two oars of faith and work to steer us in the right direction and on to the finishing line.

The Christian can have confidence in the past, that his sins are forgiven; in the present, that he has the grace to continue; and in the future because he has hope.

"The observation of the ebb and flow of the tide for so many days and months and ages together, as it has been observed by mankind, gives us a full assurance that it will ebb and flow again tomorrow." Bishop Butler, Homiletic Commentary: Philippians, page 302. We can also say it of the sun. Each morning we see it rise. Some mornings it is obscured by black clouds, just as our spirit is clouded some days with dark feelings. But the sun eventually rises and shines through the clouds. Our Son rises in our hearts every morning too, and soon we feel His strength and love take away the shadows that sometimes cover our spirit.