Overcome Inner Struggles With Complete Trust in God

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

The greatest challenge the believer faces is our own inner struggle with choosing to remain faithful in every circumstance.

Introduction

At the highest level of faith, one completely trusts in the Lord in every circumstance.  Do you have such trust in God?  You see, the greatest challenge that you and I must overcome to live in serenity is faith itself.  Faith is not easy; it will be tested, and you will struggle.  However, the one who levels up and lives in serenity does so because they’ve chosen to be all in with God.

The Struggle of Faith

Let us continue in our examination of Job’s story in this week’s message.  Job’s story is one of a man who just wanted to live in serenity, yet he found himself in the battle of his life.

Faith challenged from an outside source

In the day of Job’s great struggle, he faced many of the same challenges that sincere believers face in their walk of faith.  Job’s faith was challenged externally, first beginning with the devil’s three attacks against him.  

Satan attacked Job’s livelihood (Job 1:13-17).  Satan attacked Job’s children who died in an unnatural disaster (Job 1:18-19).  Satan then attacked and plagued Job with boils from head to toe (Job 2:7).  Keep in mind, the devil did this because he believed a faithful man, like Job, would denounce his faith in the day of great affliction.  Yet, Job remained faithful and did not denounce his faith in the Lord (Job 1:22; 2:10).

Job’s faith was then challenged by his wife, who came to him and told him that he should curse God and die (Job 2:9).  After her, Job was visited by three of his friends who sat with him for an entire week, not saying a word (Job 2:11-13).  

Yet, as soon Job opened his mouth, his friends became representative of the same flawed and oppressive system that the scribes and Pharisees represented – man’s system. You see, they attacked Job, accusing him of being a sinner.  As the scribes and Pharisees did to the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, Job’s friends believed he was deserving of punishment for his unknown sin.

The great battle within

Let us note, from Job 19:1-3, that Job’s friends did as much, if not more harm, to him than the devil did.

Job asked his friends, “How long will you torment my soul, and break me in pieces with words?  These ten times you have reproached (discredited) me; you are not ashamed that you have wronged me.”

Sure, Satan ignited this drama, but Job’s friends repeatedly added on with their accusations, and Job felt hurt in his soul.  Response after response, scripture shows us that Job let his friends get to him as he responded to them from a place of anger and grief.  

In Job 18:3-4, Bildad confirms this when he asked Job, “Why are we counted as beasts, and regarded as stupid in your sight?  You who tear yourself in anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you?”  Job had lashed out at his friends, understandably, but they had stirred up an internal struggle within Job.

Within every believer, there is such a battle taking place, whether you realize this or not.  Yes, there is an internal struggle taking place within your heart!  The great struggle of faith is whether or not we will choose to remain faithful when we are challenged.

What Is Steadfast Faith

Scripture often encourages us believers to remain faithful — to be steadfast in our faith.  For example, Paul encouraged believers, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58).”

So, what does it mean to be steadfast in our faith?  To be steadfast is defined as being firmly fixed in place; immovable.  To be steadfast is defined as being firm in belief, determination, adherence; to be loyal.  For the child of God, steadfast faith means one chooses to remain faithful in what one believes in every circumstance.

This raises the question:  What do we, “Christians”, believe in?  Right away, we will say that we believe in God.  Sure, we believe in God, but do we really understand what that means we believe in?

If you say that you believe in God, you should believe in His grace and mercy.  John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world and gave the world His only begotten Son.  God did not have to give the world His only begotten Son but He did because of His love.

If you say that you believe in God, you should believe in His faithfulness.  As Moses told Joshua and the children of Israel, the Lord will never leave nor forsake His children (Deut. 31:8).  As the Lord told Jeremiah, He will never move against us as His thoughts towards His children are of peace, a future, and hope (Jer. 29:11).  If you believe in God, you should never give up hope as the Lord never fails.

If we believe in these things, we should be firmly fixed in moving in these beliefs at all times.  Faith moves in the grace that God has shown us.  Faith does not give up hope, but moves in the hope that God will bless us.  Do you have such faith, such trust in the Lord?

The Ugly Internal Challenge of Faith

Some may think that the walk of faith is full of sunshine and rainbows, but one who walks this path knows that is not the case.  No, the internal struggle of faith is one that gets really ugly, just as David repeatedly said, we can end up in the mire (Ps. 69:2; 69:14).

Frustration with understanding God’s thoughts and ways

In Job 19:4-8, Job speaks out loud the internal struggle that he was having as he was in the pit of miry clay.  Job said to his friends, “If indeed I have erred, my error remains with me.  If indeed you exalt yourselves against me, and plead my disgrace against me, know then that God has wronged me, and has surrounded me with His net.”

Job’s friends had led him into a really bad place!  In the struggle that he was having within himself, Job wondered why God had permitted him to suffer, thinking that God had wronged him.

Job said to his friends, “If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard.”  Let’s be clear, Job was saying that his friends weren’t listening to him.  His friends were there, responding to everything Job was saying.  Job felt that he had been crying out to God about the wrong he was enduring, but God wasn’t paying Him any attention!

Job said to his friends, “If I cry aloud, there is no justice.”  Again, Job believed that God had wronged him, and to add to that, he didn’t believe it was fair.  Keep in mind, Job had repeatedly told his friends that there was no sin that he had committed that led to his suffering.  We also know that there was no sin that led to his suffering.

Job then said to his friends, “He (God) has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; and He has set darkness in my paths.”  Again, Job, like the rest of us, just wanted to live in peace and serenity, but his path had been darkened.  Job felt that God had blocked him from being able to live in serenity!

I wonder, do you think that Job had begun to doubt God and turn away from Him?  How many of us have shared similar thoughts about the Lord in the day of our affliction?  How many of us have shared the same thoughts in the day of our struggle?

Job had not begun to doubt the Lord.  Job was thinking the same things that I believe all believers think in times of great difficulty.  You see, we share these same thoughts from a place where we lack understanding of God’s thoughts and ways.  

For all of us, it doesn’t make sense that God would permit His children to be afflicted!  For us, it doesn’t make sense that God would permit such atrocities that we are seeing in the world today to take place.  Yet, God permits such things to happen.  As the Lord has made clear, His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Is. 55:9).  Our lack of understanding is what makes the internal struggle of faith even more messier. 

 Two natures battling for control

The internal struggle that we have in our faith also comes from the contrary natures battling inside of us.  Every child of God has two natures currently present inside of them that are fighting for control.

To the Galatian church, Paul wrote, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish (Gal. 5:17).”

To the church in Rome, Paul wrote, “For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do (Rom. 7:15).”

Paul spoke of the internal struggle of the flesh against the Spirit – the two natures present in all believers.  You see, all of God’s children have received the Holy Spirit who desires to move in God’s truth.  Yet, we have our old sinful self that desires to move according to its own way.  Sin moves opposite to God’s way, and this creates great struggle, especially in the day of affliction.

The internal struggle between these natures eventually comes to a head when certain moments call on one to decide to be all in with God or go another way.  The child of God should always be all in with God, right?  Yet, there are several times when things get too difficult that many professed believers turn away from God’s way.

In fact, I believe we are living in a period where the professed believers are being revealed in contrast to the sincere believers.  Again, remember that faith moves and reveals what one believes in their heart.  We have a moment where many so-called believers are revealing themselves to be everything but a child of God.  They aren’t moving in His grace, His mercy, His faithfulness, nor are they moving to uplift.

The child of God must not let our old sinful nature creep back in and try to take over us after we have committed ourselves to the way of God!  As Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2).”

How to Overcome the Internal Struggle of Faith

If we desire to live in serenity, we must win the internal struggles of faith that we have.  So, how do we overcome the internal struggle of faith that we regularly face?

Trust in the Lord

Let us pay close attention to Job because Job made a choice in his day of struggle that we must learn to follow.  

In my key verses, we will see that Job choose to be all in with God, even though he suffered great and lacked understanding.  Job proclaimed that no matter how bad things got for him, even if he were to die, he knew that his Redeemer lived!  Even if his friends accused him of a great sin, Job was confident that his Redeemer would redeem him!

The devil thought that he would get Job to denounce his faith in the Lord, and Job didn’t fold when he was attacked by him.  Job’s friends moved to bury him where he sat as they threw their figurative stones at him, but Job did not roll over.  Job’s confidence was still in God!

What was it that caused Job to remain so confident, even in the day of his great struggle?  Well, he trusted the Lord!  Job, believing in the final victory without proof, shows how much he trusted the Lord, even though he thought God had wronged him and wasn’t listening to him.

Job held fast to his faith that God would make things better, whether death came for him in that moment or not.  Job understood that in the end, he would overcome, thanks to God.  Overcoming our internal struggle of faith all boils down to simply believing, trusting in the Lord.

You see, Job understood that serenity is in the hands of God, and God will deliver it.  Because of this display of faith, Job 42:10 shows us that the Lord restored Job’s losses and gave him twice as much as he had before them.  Job’s earthly story ended with him dying full and of old age, having seen four generations of his children and grandchildren.

Job, while lacking understanding, simply chose to trust the Lord and put his fate in God’s hands.  This is what faith looks like!  Yes, there are going to be plenty of times when we have no idea what’s going on.  There are going to be plenty of times when we don’t understand why, but in those times, learn to trust God and put your fate into His hands!

Our help supplied by the Lord

Something we must understand about faith is that faith comes with the asking of questions.  Asking questions is one of the most beautiful things about believing and having faith in the Lord.  

Some of us may think that it is wrong for us to ask the Lord questions.  Some of us may think that Job was in the wrong for the way he thought and the questions he asked.  Yet, in Matthew 7:7, Jesus spoke of one should ask and it will be given.  Jesus said that one should seek so that they may find.  And lastly, Jesus said that one should knock on His door and the door will be open to them.

As shown in Job 9:32-33, Job wished he could be in the position that we find ourselves in today, spiritually.  Job desired to have a mediator who could go to God on his behalf and then make understanding of God’s works known to him.  

We have an advocate – a defender and supporter – in Christ.  We have ourselves an intercessor and mediator in Christ!  Paul wrote, “It is Christ who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Rom. 8:34).”  John wrote, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Even more, we have the Comforter and the Spirit of truth that has been given to us by the Lord.  The Comforter uplifts us in the heat of our struggles, calling to our remembrance that God will make a way and give us peace of mind (John 14:26).  The Spirit of truth gives us confidence and reveals all truth to us, giving us clarity and understanding (John 16:13).  

Serenity Is Real and It Is Ours to Have

In the clarity and understanding that has been revealed to us, we have been shown that serenity is real and we can live in it.

To live in serenity, one must choose to be all in with God.  I choose to be all in with God, putting all of my trust in Him.  Great is the reward in enduring and overcoming the external and internal challenges of faith.  Again, Job received double his portion because his faith remained, he trusted God, and God answered Him (Job 38-40).

No doubt, our struggle is going to be great.  We are going to have days when we think that God has it out for us.  We are going to have days when we think that God is blocking us from better.  Yet, I say to you, be all in with God, trust Him, and you will see that God isn’t blocking anything from you.

If you choose to be all in with God, God will respond to your cries and be attentive to your prayers.  God will lift you out of the miry clay and set your feet upon a rock (Ps. 40:1-2).  You will live in serenity, like Job, while you yet live in this world and in the day to come.  Again, I say, trust in the Lord!