Storm-Tested - Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - January 14

Monday, January 14, 2019
Storm-Tested

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. (2 Corinthians 11:25 NLT)

I don’t know whether you’ve ever been shipwrecked. I haven’t. But the apostle Paul was shipwrecked three times. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked” (1 Timothy 1:19 NLT).

I have seen people like this—people who have had their faith shipwrecked. When they experience a tragedy, they say they’ve lost their faith. I would suggest that maybe they didn’t have real faith to begin with, because the faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.

I think all of us hope for clear sailing in the sea of life. But we will all have shipwrecks in life, things that happen that don’t make sense. The Bible says, “When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:3–4 NLT).

If your faith can’t stand a test, then it isn’t real faith. Get rid of it and replace it with real faith in a real God. I believe that when Christians go through a crisis, their faith should not be destroyed. They should not lose their faith. Their faith should grow stronger because they’re clinging to the Lord in the midst of it.

There are times in life when there are no storms at all. There are no shipwrecks. Thank God for those days. But after you have lived awhile, you know something about storms. One is always on the way—maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, maybe not for a month, or maybe not for a year. But a storm will come. So be prepared for it.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

SPECIAL OFFER

In thanks for your gift, you can receive Face to Face with Jesus - Book

Bring the gospel to your home with a fantastic book from Randy Alcorn called Face to Face with Jesus. With short insightful readings, stories, and unique quotations, Face to Face with Jesus presents profound truths in bite-sized portions. It’s yours when you make a gift to Harvest Ministries this month.

This book is our thank-you gift to you when you donate to Harvest Ministries this month.