"Faith That Grows"

"But Thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies." (Psalms 44:9) This is not your average everyday walk in the park, this is hell compared to the place that the Lord has prepared for us; so we had better not fall in love with it. Basically, and without getting too carried away with rational thinking, sometimes God needs us to see our need for Him by experience; if we had everything handed to us, and if we were well taken care of, not having a care in the world, then we would become spoiled, just like a kid that always gets what they want and never needs feels what it's like to know hunger. Think of a child that is told not to touch fire because it will hurt, yet they do not understand what hurt feels like, so they must find out for themselves through the experience of hurt. It's not that God wants us to have to experience pain and agony in this place, because He gave of Himself to put an end to our sufferings; but He needs us to see things for what they are, and this place in which we live will burn us. How bad do we need God's protection? I would say that we need His protection more than we realize, because if we could actually see the spiritual battle that is all around us, then we would probably what to where a protective suit, much like the Mormons wear their protective underwear. Now it comes down to us needing protection from this world; a world that is full of devices that can cause us to draw close enough that we can and will get burned. What are we fighting for? are we fighting to hold onto the things in this life? or are we fighting to lose this life and all that it holds in us? As for the "shame", we must realize how our faith looks to the rest of the world; for those that do not know Christ, they see no need to put faith in anything other than this world, because it is this world, in their minds, that gives them life. That is kind of a scary thought, but it's true; and if you see by the news how things are falling apart, then you should be relieved to know that it is not our world... "And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of this world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake." (Matthew 24:3-9)