What can you expect when you love God?

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Be faithful yourself

When big problems come, there is something in all of us that wants to bail out, throw in the towel, wave the white flag of surrender, and retreat to someplace less stressful.

This explains why so many people under great stress and strain walk away from God, a marriage, a friendship, or a church. When the future looks stormy or uncertain, it becomes easy to rationalize, to jettison one's convictions, to go back on promises.

Before you succumb to panic and start to renege on a commitment, you need to strongly consider God's promise. It tells us that we have something within us (Someone, actually) who desires for us to be loyal and who gives us the courage and grit to hang tough. The Holy Spirit will, if you ask him, enable you to persevereeven in the face of overwhelming trouble.

Praying God's Promise
God, you are always faithful to me. By the power of your Spirit, help me to keep my commitments in tough times. I want to be reliable and trustworthy. I want to be wholly devoted to you, through thick and thin. Fill me with your Spirit so that I have the courage to stand firm.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House