The votes have been counted and the results are in from the recent poll that was taken to find out what is the hardest to endure in the Christian life? The most votes that were received were for problems that we have with our families. The poll was not just taken to get votes but to find out what we struggle with the most and offer encouragement, strategies and a game plan to keep the faith.
On that note, I interviewed Speaker, Teacher and Recording Artist Nancy Sebastian Meyer, M.ED. Author of Spiritually Single Moms: Raising Godly Kids When Dad Doesn't Believe.Mrs. Meyers is very open with her personal struggles that she has endured as a Christian and shares with us what she did and is doing to endure her family trials. Hopefully and prayerfully her testimony will encourage us as we endure our test no matter what they may be.
Interview With Nancy Sebastian Meyer, M.ED
S.E.G.-Everyone has problems but do you think that there are problems that only Christians can have?
N.S.M.-In everyday life, I think the biggest difference between a Christian and a non-believer is Satan. We are no threat to the evil one until we surrender to Christ, we accept salvation, and God’s Spirit takes up residence in our lives. Every individual is plagued by a sin nature, and everyone has to contend with the temptations and ideals of this crazy world we live in. But only God’s children, empowered by the Spirit of God, can do eternal damage to Satan’s game plan.S.E.G.-Yes, Satan is one of our competitors in the Christian Olympics and we have to develop strategies to win our competitions.
I agree that there are problems that are unique for Christians only. Because the only reason we go through many of our trials, temptations, and tribulations is because we are Christians.
What area do you think that Satan tries to attack the most?
N.S.M.-I am most certain that the area Satan hits hardest is the home, in particular, marriage. Not only do marriage problems bleed over into the children’s lives, but the sins of the parents are passed down through the generations that follow. And personally, I believe marriage is the closest type (example) of the relationship of intimacy and unequalled love that we can have with God. If Satan can discredit marriage, he discounts that exquisite relationship God offers to each believer.
S.E.G.-Maybe that is why the recent poll that was conducted on the question:
What seems to be the hardest to endure in the Christian life?
The most votes were for Problems with Family.
Can you give examples of problems that only Christians face?
N.S.M.-Examples of problems only Christians face can include:
· The struggle to DO for God, instead of BE with Him as He works His will out in our lives (who our focus on?).
N.S.M.-In everyday life, I think the biggest difference between a Christian and a non-believer is Satan. We are no threat to the evil one until we surrender to Christ, we accept salvation, and God’s Spirit takes up residence in our lives. Every individual is plagued by a sin nature, and everyone has to contend with the temptations and ideals of this crazy world we live in. But only God’s children, empowered by the Spirit of God, can do eternal damage to Satan’s game plan.S.E.G.-Yes, Satan is one of our competitors in the Christian Olympics and we have to develop strategies to win our competitions.
I agree that there are problems that are unique for Christians only. Because the only reason we go through many of our trials, temptations, and tribulations is because we are Christians.
What area do you think that Satan tries to attack the most?
N.S.M.-I am most certain that the area Satan hits hardest is the home, in particular, marriage. Not only do marriage problems bleed over into the children’s lives, but the sins of the parents are passed down through the generations that follow. And personally, I believe marriage is the closest type (example) of the relationship of intimacy and unequalled love that we can have with God. If Satan can discredit marriage, he discounts that exquisite relationship God offers to each believer.
S.E.G.-Maybe that is why the recent poll that was conducted on the question:
What seems to be the hardest to endure in the Christian life?
The most votes were for Problems with Family.
Can you give examples of problems that only Christians face?
N.S.M.-Examples of problems only Christians face can include:
· The struggle to DO for God, instead of BE with Him as He works His will out in our lives (who our focus on?).
· The constant war between satisfying our residual sin nature and putting the Spirit of God first in every aspect of our lives.
· The expectation that we as Christians should be perfect (whether you put that on you or feel someone else expects it) and we become discouraged when we stumble, when we fail…
· The spiritual division between us as believers and other significant family members and friends who don’t understand our faith – especially immediate family members (husband, wife) who we are in constant struggle with because our goals and life-focus is not the same.
· The disappointment of expecting God to answer our prayers and not seeing that answer (the one we want).
· The deep desire of wanting to raise our kids to love God, but not having control over the outcome of their choices, and often feeling like failures when we goof up and aren’t the parents/role models we want to be.
S.E.G.-As we are running on our spiritual racetracks of this world we will have these and other struggles. What seems to be or was the hardest for you to endure as a Christian ?
N.S.M.-I married a pastor 28+ years ago and expected to serve the Lord together for the rest of our lives. Since he defected from the faith over 21 years, we have been growing further and further apart spiritually – which impacts every area of our lives and marriage. I can’t even begin to explain the heart anguish I’ve taken to the Lord over the years. And sitting by myself in church never gets any easier. There is no greater grief than knowing the one you love most on this earth does not share your love of God.
S.E.G.-As Christians we will one day go through, are getting ready to go through or are going through something right now that test our faith. Something that is very hard to endure and really stretches our endurance capabilities. What did you do or are doing to hold on and keep the faith?
N.S.M.-To keep the faith, I had to make the realization that I couldn’t rely on my husband to be my spiritual provider – that my relationship with Christ is my own responsibility (perhaps I never would have owned my own personal relationship with Christ if Rich had continued to serve the Lord and I looked to him to feed my need for God). Keeping the faith is possible for me only as I spend daily alone time with God in prayer and reading His Word so I “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but [am] transformed by the renewing of [my] mind (Romans 12:2) – and throughout each day I “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b). The other thing that always inspires me is the thought that the party (in Heaven) is coming; right now is the brief time I’ve been given to be about God’s eternal Kingdom work. I’m holding on to God, but what really matters is – He’s holding on to me!
S.E.G.- You are an example of a spiritual athlete by developing a strategy to take responsibility for your own relationship with Christ. And doing your spiritual exercises of Bible study, prayer, and walking by faith. And the hope to be in heaven one day is what gives us joy.
· The disappointment of expecting God to answer our prayers and not seeing that answer (the one we want).
· The deep desire of wanting to raise our kids to love God, but not having control over the outcome of their choices, and often feeling like failures when we goof up and aren’t the parents/role models we want to be.
S.E.G.-As we are running on our spiritual racetracks of this world we will have these and other struggles. What seems to be or was the hardest for you to endure as a Christian ?
N.S.M.-I married a pastor 28+ years ago and expected to serve the Lord together for the rest of our lives. Since he defected from the faith over 21 years, we have been growing further and further apart spiritually – which impacts every area of our lives and marriage. I can’t even begin to explain the heart anguish I’ve taken to the Lord over the years. And sitting by myself in church never gets any easier. There is no greater grief than knowing the one you love most on this earth does not share your love of God.
S.E.G.-As Christians we will one day go through, are getting ready to go through or are going through something right now that test our faith. Something that is very hard to endure and really stretches our endurance capabilities. What did you do or are doing to hold on and keep the faith?
N.S.M.-To keep the faith, I had to make the realization that I couldn’t rely on my husband to be my spiritual provider – that my relationship with Christ is my own responsibility (perhaps I never would have owned my own personal relationship with Christ if Rich had continued to serve the Lord and I looked to him to feed my need for God). Keeping the faith is possible for me only as I spend daily alone time with God in prayer and reading His Word so I “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but [am] transformed by the renewing of [my] mind (Romans 12:2) – and throughout each day I “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b). The other thing that always inspires me is the thought that the party (in Heaven) is coming; right now is the brief time I’ve been given to be about God’s eternal Kingdom work. I’m holding on to God, but what really matters is – He’s holding on to me!
S.E.G.- You are an example of a spiritual athlete by developing a strategy to take responsibility for your own relationship with Christ. And doing your spiritual exercises of Bible study, prayer, and walking by faith. And the hope to be in heaven one day is what gives us joy.
You brought out something very important that you may not have had a personal relationship with God if your husband was the spiritual leader. Which is an example of how trials can be beneficial to our spiritual life like nothing else can, because it makes us stronger spiritually giving us spiritual muscle.Similar to how a workout benefits and athlete. “The magnificent result of suffering produces Christians who are well adjusted and firm in their faith in Jesus Christ, resulting in a strong, established foundation.”(The Christian Olympics-Going for the Gold Crowns by S. E. Gregg,chp.6, pg.130, par.3)
This is a personal question that I wanted to ask you, do you think your husband was saved when you met him in Bible School and just walked away from his faith? Or was he going to Bible school, pastoring and never accepted Christ as his personal Saviour ?
N.S.M.-This is a frequent question. I believed to the core of my being that Rich loved God and was passionate about serving Him when we were dating at Lancaster Bible College – but the truth is, only God knows the inner workings of a heart. Where/when did he fall away from the faith is another frequent question, to which my reply is: he did all the “right things” in church work (I was there, I witnessed his fervor), but I think he did them FOR God, not WITH God – relationship was the missing key. I will be honest and say I pray both ways for Rich – that he will come back to God, or truly find God if indeed he is not saved.
S.E.G.- We will pray for Rich and we thank you for stopping by on your way to the Finish Line and sharing with all of the marathon runners how to run and endure the Christian race. You are truly a marathon runner in the Christian Olympics. With God’s strength you have endured your test all of these years. You did not try to get out of your test, you were obedient to God, you stayed and endured. We pray that you will continue to keep the faith because God promises to reward us if we hang in there and endure our test. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” (James 1:12) Keep going for the Gold Crowns.
This is a personal question that I wanted to ask you, do you think your husband was saved when you met him in Bible School and just walked away from his faith? Or was he going to Bible school, pastoring and never accepted Christ as his personal Saviour ?
N.S.M.-This is a frequent question. I believed to the core of my being that Rich loved God and was passionate about serving Him when we were dating at Lancaster Bible College – but the truth is, only God knows the inner workings of a heart. Where/when did he fall away from the faith is another frequent question, to which my reply is: he did all the “right things” in church work (I was there, I witnessed his fervor), but I think he did them FOR God, not WITH God – relationship was the missing key. I will be honest and say I pray both ways for Rich – that he will come back to God, or truly find God if indeed he is not saved.
S.E.G.- We will pray for Rich and we thank you for stopping by on your way to the Finish Line and sharing with all of the marathon runners how to run and endure the Christian race. You are truly a marathon runner in the Christian Olympics. With God’s strength you have endured your test all of these years. You did not try to get out of your test, you were obedient to God, you stayed and endured. We pray that you will continue to keep the faith because God promises to reward us if we hang in there and endure our test. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” (James 1:12) Keep going for the Gold Crowns.
