The Reality of Christian Living

The Reality of Christian Living
by Eric Lambert

Christianity is not a party. Walking with God is a lifestyle. As a result, things may go wrong. We have this belief that because we are born again that we will be free from trouble. The exact opposite is true. We are told in Psalms 34:19, “Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” In the time of trouble, what will God do? Hide us. Our heavenly Father does not say that He is going to deliver us out of trouble, but He will hide us in the midst of it.

David said in the Psalms that he was young and is now old and never saw the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. This does not mean we will not go through; it means God will not forsake us. It does not mean we will not lose something; it means we will not beg bread. It does not mean the enemy will not come against us; it means he will not defeat us. It does not mean we will not fight; it means we have the victory. It does not mean we will not feel like giving up; it means we will do all to stand. In essence, you can be in trouble, but the trouble does not have to be in you. We can have confidence and be at peace during trouble and afflictions, as we remember the promise of Psalms 34:19, “…Lord, delivereth [me] out of [it] all.” It is at this point that we have moved into the spiritual realm.

You will inevitably encounter people who will tell you that you are never to be down. The reality is that at times, as believers, we do not want to be bothered with God. There are times when God calls and we do not want to talk to Him. You may have asked Him to fix a situation that has grown worse, and we pout.

Your response may not have been the same as the response of Job “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21).” Instead you pull a Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:9) and say “I am not going to pray anymore! I am not fasting any more! I am not going to church any more! I am not reading my bible any more!” The next day you come to your senses and say to yourself “What’s wrong in there? Something is wrong. Wake up in there soul! Why so cast down? Hope thou in God.“ You end your pity party and get yourself together. You know in whom you believe and you know that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that works inside of you (Ephesians 3:20).

If we are completely honest then we would admit that even Christians have moments when we doubt our salvation. You say to yourself, “Lord, I can’t be saved with all this stuff happening to me.” Then you look to your right and the drug dealer is prospering; you look to your left and evil people are prospering. Everywhere you look those who are against God are prospering. You ask yourself why you should keep living right before God in light of nothing going right in your life. All of a sudden, you are reminded of where God brought you from. You realize that you cannot turn back. You really have made up your mind to go to the very end. It is in these moments you have to ask God to keep you satisfied. Things may not be perfect in your life but it is better than where you were because God is going through with you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In his latest book, Ingredients for Prayer: A Practical Approach for Maximizing Your Time with God, Rev. Lambert, details what he believes is the true purpose of prayer in contrast to the ‘give me syndrome’ of prayer that so many with financial woes seem to have. By using “The Lord’s Prayer” as a framework, he examines pieces of this prayer model to show ways to connect with God, like understanding the mind and will of God and becoming dependent upon and receiving the peace of God. Rev. Lambert says having a God-centered and not self-centered focus on prayer helps you to know that “[p]rayer is not about you. It is about the will of the Lord being done through you. To make supplication means that you should bring your request to the Lord; however, you must be sure that your request does not go against the will of the Lord.”

Rev. Eric A. Lambert Jr. responded to God’s call to Jesus Christ in 1971. From that time he was active in Christian ministry, serving in a variety of capacities at Deliverance Evangelistic Church, under the pastorate of the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Smith Sr. In 1987, after God’s leading, Rev. Lambert established Bethel Deliverance International Church in 1987 with seven committed believers, just north of his hometown of Philadelphia. In addition to pastoring, Rev. Lambert is fulfilling his apostolic calling, having planted a number of churches and developed pastoral relationships with both new and seasoned pastors. He remains committed to spreading the love of God to those who do not know Him while stabilizing and fortifying believers. This is evident not only in his church but in the messages of his books.

For more information about Ingredients for Prayer: Maximizing Your Time with God, visit http://ericlambertministries.com.

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