Faith in Difficult Circumstances

Psalm 119:134 - "Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts."

Sometimes it tough to be a Christ-follower. I was meeting with a former student of mine earlier today. He's home from college on his Christmas break. He talked to me about the difficulty of walking with Christ on his campus. He is constantly made fun of because of his belief in Christ. The guys on his college campus are constantly trying to get him to reject his faith and lower his standards. He spoke with me about how hard this has been.

And, he reminded me of today's verse. He is clearly being oppressed. That oppression has made it difficult for him to keep walking in his faith. His way of dealing with this has been to be in constant prayer, to e-mail close friends asking them to pray, and to hang out a lot with one Christian friend. He told me that God recently answered his prayer. He has a new roommate, has found a good church, and is growing in his walk with Christ.

Before he left I told him that God is seldom early but He is never late. God answered his prayer in God's time. That meant a lot to this student.

As you go through hard times, remember that God is there. Keep following Christ, even in the dark times. He will come through, in His time.

Dear God,

Today is the last day of 2007. It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Help us to walk faithfully with You. Help us to obey Your commands. Help us to reach out to You when we feel like life is too tough. And, help us to always remember that your ways are worth following.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.