Complimentary Story
Summer 2026EDITOR’S NOTE: Previous parts of this series can be found on the Wisconsin Christian News website.
The godly believer, man or woman, rests in God’s sovereignty, understanding that no one gets away with anything, and eventually, the rotten fruit of sin will manifest itself — that’s verses 14 through 16, and I want you to see this. This encourages me. I hope that it encourages you.
God Will Deal With All Wickedness
“Behold, he” (now, little ‘h’ — now He’s talking about the evil ones, those that were pursuing David, those that were slandering His name, those that were His adversaries) — “Behold, he travails with wickedness, and he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.” How many of you have known people in your life who just seem to thrive on causing problems? We say things like, “Man, why are they always stirring the pot?”
We know people like that, don’t we? Now, disclaimer: it’s okay if you’re stirring the pot and you’re just having fun. There’s a difference. I like jokesters myself. I like people who play pranks, and you know, that’s fun. I like that. That’s not what this is. This is trying to cause others to stumble through plotting evil.
“Behold, he travails” (verse 14) “with wickedness, and he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.” Notice what happens to someone who gives their life to that kind of behavior. Verse 15: “He,” the evil one, has dug a pit, hollowed it out, and “has fallen into the hole which he made.”
We have a phrase for that: “What goes around, comes around.” Yeah, see, people who commit evil, people who rejoice in their sin and try to get others to stumble into sin, sooner or later, their own lives are going to implode because of their behavior. They’re not going to get away with it forever.
For supplemental reading, look at James, chapter 1, verses 13 through 16 and see what that has to say that applies to this.
So, what happens then, when we understand that we can rest in God’s sovereignty because He’s got it under control? He is our Defender; He’s not going to allow evil to continue indefinitely. There is a day marked for judgment. When we rest in all of that, not only is the burden lifted off of us, because that can be very depressing looking at the world today and thinking, “Man, how long can this go on?” Does anybody else think about that besides me? “How long can this go on, Lord?” Well, what happens as a result of all of that? When you go through this process of thinking through all these things, and you arrive at an understanding of God’s sovereignty, you rejoice in His goodness, in His plan, and your salvation, and it leads to worship.
Worship Is A Natural Result Of Resting In God
That’s what verse 17 says. Notice, David says, “I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness.” After working through all of these things and understanding what is necessary to live a righteous, blameless, holy life before God, evaluating yourself accurately, asking God to evaluate yourself, resting in God’s sovereignty — that is going to lead you, ultimately, to a place of worship, where you can worship the Lord.
In Matthew 11, verses 28 through 30, Jesus calls us to peace and rest. That should be what characterizes our lives — peace and rest. Now that seems to be a contrast that’s not doable in our culture, but I’m here to tell you that it is. But you’ve got to set up and organize your life in such a way that you can have that peace and rest. You’ve got to eliminate all those things in your life that cause disruption, that cause drama. And sometimes, that’s people.
However, that applies in your own life, sometimes that’s people. But we can rest from the hardships of life because Jesus has already worked it out on our behalf.
A Word For Those Apart From Christ – What Is Saving Faith?
I want to share with you what this means, because some folks, they’ll read this, but they’re not saved. They have no idea what it means to rest in an understanding of the God who is sovereign. “I don’t even know God. What does His sovereignty have to do with anything?” Well, for those people, what is saving faith? What does it mean to be born again?
Let me give you a few facts about saving faith. First of all, saving faith responds to the one true and living God. You see, your faith is only as good as the object in which you place it. So, who is the God that you have trusted? Is it the God of the Scriptures, or is it the god of your own choosing or making? See, that would be an idol.
I’m alerted to the fact that people are serving idols every time I hear somebody say, “Well, my God…” Well, if you’re my brother, we serve the same God, so I don’t know who this “my God” is. This “my God” is usually a preface for “Well, my God is this” or “My God wouldn’t do that,” or “My God is this.” Well, what does the Scripture say? Because that’s the bottom line, not your opinion.
Saving faith responds to the one true and living God.
Now, you can know — the Bible says you can know and be sure that you are born again. You can be sure. Several places I think of immediately when I make that statement: John chapter 20, where John says, “These things have been written so that you might know the One in whom you’ve believed in.” So that you might know.
Secondly, saving faith trusts in the promises of God. You see, our faith was meant to be practical. The Christian faith is meant to be lived out day by day. It’s not some pie-in-the-sky set of rules and regulations that you have to strive for every day to try and attain. No, saving faith rests in and trusts in the promises of God. And God’s promises are applicable, they’re workable, they’re livable; they make sense in the everyday 24/7 grind that we call life. So I encourage you to investigate those.
Thirdly, saving faith depends on the Word of God. You know, you must be involved in a regular reading, studying, meditation upon the Word of God. Whatever “regular” looks like for you, but do it on a systematic, regular basis. Why? Because it is the Word of God. It is the medium by which He speaks to us. Now, He’ll speak to us as we’re in the Word of God, studying and meditating on it by the Holy Spirit—the Holy Spirit gives us understanding, right? But we must be in the Word on a regular basis. So, saving faith depends on the Word of God.
If you’re a believer and you say you claim faith in God, and yet you never read the Scripture, and you blow the dust off of it so that you can bring it with you on Sunday, something’s wrong there.
Fourthly, saving faith rejects any idea of merit. Here’s a news flash for some of you — there’s nothing in you that God saw and said, “Oh, there’s one I have to save.” Our salvation is only by grace. It’s only by grace; it’s only by the mercy of God. There’s nothing in us that makes God obligated to save us or anyone else. And yet, He did. Now, if that doesn’t humble you, I don’t know what will.
Fifthly, saving faith refuses to trust in religious actions. Now, you’ve heard me harp on this for years, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. How many of you know you don’t get any brownie points for showing up to church on Sunday? “Well, what am I doing here then?” Well, you’d better figure it out.
But that’s how some people believe, right? “Man, if I make it to church twice a week, surely God sits up and takes notice of that. Dropping money in the offering box doesn’t do it. There is no religious activity that’s going to draw you closer to God. You are already a son and a daughter; you’re already adopted; you’re already a joint heir; you already have all the promises in Scripture. They’re yours for the claiming.
We receive Christ’s righteousness as a free gift, not on the basis of our works, and we are maintained in our salvation the same way. So, you don’t work to earn it, you don’t work to keep it. Now, here’s something I do know, though: when you love the Lord, you’re going to live a life that is pleasing to Him, and that’s going to manifest itself in action.
You’re going to want to teach Sunday School, you’re going to want to work in the nursery, you’re going to want to work VBS, you’re going to want to do things; you’re going to want to show up for work day, you’re going to want to do all these things. Not because you’re thinking, “Yeah, now if I do that, Lord...” No, no. How can I help the Chuch? How can I help the body of believers be everything that God wants it to be, for the glory of God? That’s the motivation: for the glory of God, not because we’re obligated.
Sixthly, saving faith grows over time. We talk about this in the context of maturity, but we can also talk about it in the context of godliness. How many of you understand, that as you grow in your faith, as you grow closer to the Lord, you have a holy hatred for sin? Sin makes you angry.
That is a natural progression. As we grow in maturity, as we grow in godliness, we will have a holy dissatisfaction for anything that falls short of the glory of God. We don’t wink at sin; we don’t act like, “Well, I don’t want to rock the boat.” Rock the boat, rock it, turn it over if you have to, because people will either swim or sink, right? If you’re a believer, you know how to swim, so you can rescue them. But rock their world; don’t allow them to continue on in their sin.
Saving faith, seventhly, believes contrary to the circumstances. How many of you know, because you’ve experienced it, that saving faith sees things differently than a lost person does? Believers can look at a set of circumstances, and they can say, “Wow,” but they don’t fall apart. And yet, an unbeliever can look at the same set of circumstances, and they’re just done.
In fact, some of you have told me, “Man, people just marvel — I’m going through this right here, and someone has come to me and said, ‘How are you doing this?’” And what do you tell them? “It’s only the grace of God.” It’s only the grace of God.
I’ve told people that over the years, “Man, I admire you for the fire that you’re under and you’re maintaining your faith and your hope, but I know how you’re doing it.” Our trust in our hope will be tested often. Saving faith perseveres through trials. As that hymn says, “Through trials, toils, and snares, I have already come.” Yes, you have already come in Christ; He has conquered all of those things for you and on your behalf.
Finally, the eighth point: Saving faith delights in the glory of God. Saving faith delights in the glory of God, and in this way, is increasingly strengthened. Have you ever thought about that? There is a direct correlation between giving praise, glory, and honor to God in your life, even when you’re going through tough times, and your faith being strengthened. It isn’t necessarily the trial itself that strengthens your faith, but it’s your response to the trial.
Are you giving God the glory? Are you focusing on Him, and do you continue to trust in Him and walk in holiness and righteousness, no matter what’s going on around you? That glorifies God, and as a result, your faith is strengthened. Your faith isn’t strengthened if you crumble and fall apart in the midst of your circumstances. It’s only as you hold up.
God receives the glory, and your faith is strengthened — that is saving faith.
Redeem The Time You Have Been Given
So many, over the years, have claimed faith and they’ve gone off the reservation, never to be seen or heard from again. I think it’s high time we start calling things what they are — such a person was probably never saved. Saving faith perseveres. Now, you can call it whatever you want to. The Scripture says, “Those who persevere to the end will be saved.” And that’s something I do know.
Pray for those of our number. We’ve had folks who have come through the doors of our church and were here a time or two, and then you don’t see them anymore. And it makes you wonder, “What happened?” And I’ve got my own theories about that. Perhaps you do too. My own personal theory is that they weren’t ready for this. I pray that they have found some place that is equipping them to get ready for this.
Christianity and living a Christian life in this day and age is no party. It is a challenge, and you will be challenged day by day to be faithful in your walk. We need each other. We need each other like never before to strengthen and encourage one another. So I pray that you will pray for one another.
The world that God created is good, but it’s broken. But He has a plan for it. We are headed in a direction. There is coming an end to all of this. Christ is coming back, and I believe He’s coming back sooner rather than later, and I believe it’s going to be very, very soon. I’m not setting a date. Is it in my lifetime? Depends on how many years the Lord gives me.
I remember when I was saved as a 27-year-old, and I thought, “Man, I’ve got all these years.” Well, guess what? Forty-two years have gone by like the snap of a finger. It goes quickly. And now I think I might have, statistically speaking, I might have 15 years left. I see people leaving this world at my age all the time now.
What are you going to do for the Kingdom in the time you have left? Okay, so you’re five years younger than me, or you just turned 50. What are you going to do with the last 20 years? See, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound like a long time, does it? What are you going to do with the last 20 years of your life? What are you going to do for the Kingdom that’ll make an impact so that when you’re gone, they’ll say, “Mike was part of that.”
Only you can answer that. Spend whatever time you’ve got left making sure that you have an impact. And I love this quote: “What you do in life echoes in eternity.” (General Maximus from Gladiator). It’s true, though, isn’t it? A Christian pays things forward.
What we do in the here and now is going to have echoes in eternity — the way you live your life now, those that you witness to, those that you share the Gospel with, and they accept Christ as Savior — that’s a life that’s going to echo in eternity. It’s like dominoes. You don’t know what God might use as a single incident that you’re faithful to do, but it’ll be a domino effect that’ll affect so many others.
Get serious about your Christian life. See it in the scope of eternity. You’ve got 15 years left, you’ve got 20, you’re younger than me, you have 30. Even 30 is not a long time. Use it for a purpose.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for Your goodness and mercy toward us, for reminding us, Lord, that You are on the throne, still. You’ve not abdicated that, and You’re not being slothful, Lord. You’re not disregarding us or the plight here that we see in America certainly, but around the world too.
Lord, things are getting rapidly out of control. Man is rising up in his evilness and trying, Lord, to conquer the world with governments and religions — really, it’s just about control and bondage. We see it for what it is.
So, Father, in the time that we have left, as long as You tarry, would You help us, Lord, to ever be about Your business, no matter where we find ourselves? May we always be on mission, whether it’s at work, whether we find ourselves at the grocery store, the gas station — wherever it is. If we have an opportunity, help us to speak about Jesus.
Thank You for this body of believers, Lord, that You’ve raised up and You continue to provide for and cause to persevere. We’re so blessed, Lord, to be a part of this work. We ask, Father, You’d protect us against the attacks and the schemes, the traps and the deceptions of the enemy. We love You, Father. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Dr. Mike Spaulding
P. O. Box 3007
Lima, OH 45807
