By Neil Anderson

December 27

1 John 3:1  
See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God

Have you ever felt that God is ready to give up on you because, instead of walking confidently in faith, you sometimes stumble and fall? Do you ever fear that there is a limit to God’s tolerance of your failure and that you are walking dangerously near that outer barrier or have already crossed it? I have met a lot of Christians like that. They think that God is upset with them, that He is ready to dump them, or that He has already given up on them because their daily performance is less than perfect.

It’s true that the walk of faith can sometimes be interrupted by moments of personal unbelief or rebellion, or even satanic deception. It’s during those moments when we think that God has surely lost His patience with us and is ready to give up on us. The temptation is to give up, stop walking by faith altogether, slump dejectedly by the side of the road, and wonder, “What’s the use?” We feel defeated, God’s work for us is suspended, and Satan is elated.

The primary truth you need to know about God in order for your faith to remain strong is that His love and acceptance is unconditional. When your walk of faith is strong, God loves you. When your walk of faith is weak, God loves you. When you’re strong one moment and weak the next, strong one day and weak the next, God loves you. God’s love for you is the great eternal constant in the midst of all the inconsistencies of your daily walk.

God wants us to do good, of course. The apostle John wrote: “I write this to you so that you will not sin” (1 John 2:1 NIV). But John continued by reminding us that God has already made provision for our failure so His love continues constant in spite of what we do: “But if anybody does sin, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (verses 1, 2 NIV).

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to correct my character defects and to help meet the needs of others.

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