He leads me into His Light

The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. Micah 7:4 NIV.

Sometimes we are left in the middle of distress, because people are deceitful to us. A situation may arise where the enemy is attacking us with all its rage and we feel the same as the prophet Micah:

For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man’s enemies are the members of his own household. Micah 7:5-6 NIV.

In these situations, however, we can raise our heads and lift up our eyes on the Lord, who does not forsake us. When the dark clouds darken our world, we need to believe that behind the gloomy clouds the sun of grace is shining. We need to believe that God will blow those dark clouds away and we will once again walk in his light.

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7 NIV.

If we feel guilty in the middle of such battles, it will undermine our faith. We may feel internally distressed and be convicted. The load of guilt will not be relieved immediately, we will have to fight, even though we know from God's Word:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1.John 1:9 NIV.

When the guilt presses us down, the enemy can come to gloat and to convince us that we are lost. He will destroy our faith without pity, and he tries to prove us that because we are fallen, we no longer have any possibility get back into life, but we will have to bear the embarrassment before God and in the eyes of all men forever. Sounds familiar?

But when the temptation comes we know God has also prepared salvation for us so we can endure it (Comp.1.Kor.10:13).

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.  Micah 7:8-9 NIV.

Feeling oneself worthless

Jesus loves imperfect people, failed, unbelievers and inconsistent in their faith. He died on the cross for you, he died in full and not in half, so your sins and failures have been treated in whole, not in half. Jesus focuses his attention upon the weak. When Peter had denied Jesus, he received special attention from the Lord. When Thomas was openly incredulous, Jesus went up to him and spoke to him. All the weak and the "bad" seemed to collect his attention. Indeed, you do not need to fear that you will be ignored, because you are so "poor as a believer." A synagogue leader was told "do not bother the teacher, your chances have gone already!" (Mark.5:35 freely). But: Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark.5:36).

When the truth became an axe

A clash among members of a famous galaxy quintet (known as Stephan's Quintet) reveals an assortment of stars across a wide colour range, from young, blue stars to aging, red stars. Photo: ESA Hubble.

Becoming a victim: You may feel like being a victim of religion, if you have been mistreated in a church or by other believers in general. The worst ordeal for a believer does not always come from the world or as blasphemy by antichristian people. The worst thing is to be mistreated by a brother or sister or if your pastor says something offensive. A teacher at school, who belongs to a different denomination as your parents, may have humiliated you as you were a schoolkid even when you had nothing against anyone.

A Gentle Whisper

Bright knots of glowing gas light up the arms of spiral galaxy M74, indicating a rich environment of star formation. Messier 74, also called NGC 628, is slightly smaller than our Milky Way. Photo: HubbleSite

God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”. And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Rom.11:2-4.