“Christ in you, the hope of glory.“

Colossians 1: 27

Christ died, one time for all time and for all who would believe. Those who receive His power, know Him and will repent and believe through every trouble.

This presence, this power, this perfection, is not ours, but a free gift from God. If His presence dwells within, we have a living hope for glory.  The felt knowledge of His presence and power is a strong encouragement and sign that we belong to Him.

Yet there are times when we do not feel or have assurance of our salvation. The passion has gone, and there is no sense that the Lord is with us. Doubt takes hold and we sink down into spiritual depression. What brings us to that place? The hope has gone and we are left with no hope and no future. We can be brought so low, that we start to question the reality of our faith. Our mind starts to unravel the experiences that brought us to Christ, and we interpret them in a negative way. the Scriptures that are brought to our mind, back up the negative mindset. We can be brought very low…

We doubt. We doubt ourselves. We doubt the Lord.

For the Christian, this is a painful place and full of tortuous thoughts and monumental blame. The doubt that you don’t belong to God, and are so distressed by this thought, is really the proof that you are His. But the blame game of the mind, precludes us from seeing this. It is a prison of the mind and only that healing of the mind can bring the heart and soul into a stable and secure place.

The fact that a person belongs to Christ, cannot be changed. We cannot belong and not belong. For the sufferer, we continue to trust and keep living, and wait for the deliverance which will surely come. God brings us through such trials, so that we will emerge strong and disciplined in our life with Him.

Our hope of glory may fade at some points in our lives, but we will overcome, if we do not give up. We persevere under the trial, until we get back that precious sense of His love for us and that we belong to Him. Although our hope of glory might seem to fade, we can never loose that glory, because we are kept by the power of God. Feelings are good when they cooperate, but so often, they do not. Faith does not depend on feelings. Faith holds on when all else falls away. Christ in us, by the power of His Spirit, will bring us safely home to where we belong.