How to remain steadfast in God's love amidst current challenges: 'I will never abandon you'

The new book 'Light For Today: 365 Daily Devotions from the Lighthouse' was a labor of love, with the goal of seeing God in the challenges of daily life and finding comfort in the promise, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'

The devotional is a practical application of the concepts presented in "Lighthouse Faith."

The lighthouse is a potent symbol of safety and resilience, serving as a guiding light in the midst of gloom.

The lighthouse, with its intricate design, appears to be a divine emblem etched on every aspect of creation, including the celestial bodies, natural wonders, creatures, and, most importantly, us, who are created in the image of God.

So how is the lighthouse God's logo?

The Ten Commandments are not just a set of arbitrary rules and regulations, but a reflection of God's character and a guide for us to live as His image bearers.

Of course, it's a lot harder to do than to say.

The First Commandment serves as the foundation: "I am the Lord your God … You shall not worship any other deity before me."

God's commands are motivated by love.

"God knows how we are made and how best we can live joyful, meaningful lives."

God knows how we are made and how best we can live joyful, meaningful lives.

There is only one true God, and anything we worship as a god is a false idol.

Disordered loves are our biggest problem, according to one theologian.

Unless God's love is less important than someone else's love, it is impossible to commit adultery.

You can't steal unless something else is more valuable to you than God.

The First Commandment is the foundation, and the relationship between all other laws is the cross's horizontal and vertical components.

"Scripture tells us that God is love … God didn't create love. He IS Love."

The system is basic and fundamental, with all elements connected first to each other and then to everything else in the system.

The right triangle, cell structure in biology, and diatonic scale in music all exhibit this pattern.

How does a devotional relate to love and being a labor of love?

According to scripture, God is love. First John: "God is love." Indeed, God loves, but He is love in and of Himself. He is the origin, the source, and the wellspring of love.

It means God didn't create love. He IS Love.

So if God is love, what are the implications? Lots!

While we perceive love as solely emotional and sometimes irrational, God's love is intricately multifaceted.

"When God said, ‘Let there be light,’ it was out of love."

All creation, including its laws, scientific principles, the periodic table, the strong and weak forces, gravity, and the motion of the planets, are the result of God's love.

Which means God's love, first and foremost, creates order.

Out of love, God commanded, "Let there be light."

God not only made a dwelling for us but also a loving home.

Under spiritual attack

The world is experiencing an increase in crime, protests, and violence.

This spiritual assault has been present since the dawn of creation.

Satan aims to lead us astray from God and make us rely on something other than Him.

The Bible warns us constantly about these spiritual battles.

"Wear the entire armor of God to withstand the devil's schemes" (Ephesians 6).

Though we appear to be physical beings, we are not engaging in warfare in the manner of the flesh.

"The Bible warns us constantly about these spiritual battles."

The devil, your adversary, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. (1 Peter 5)

Satan aims to undermine your trust in God and lead you away from the source of love that we all desire.

3 important points about spiritual attacks

There are three things that are very important to remember about spiritual attacks.

1. They usually come from someone or something familiar to us.
2. A lot of times they focus on our strengths, not our weaknesses.
3. When we are at our weakest, emotionally or physically, is when the greatest damage occurs.

Here's a deeper dive into these three points.

1. Spiritual attacks often come from those familiar to us

The Garden of Eden is where it all began, with the original sin and the fall from grace.

Eve and Adam are relishing their relationship with God in this stunning garden. However, God warns them not to consume the fruit from the tree in the center.

The rapid decline of things is a reminder of Eve's encounter with the serpent. Contemporary individuals grapple with significant issues in a technologically advanced era.

What is the reason for Eve conversing with a serpent, and what is the serpent's purpose for speaking?

These are the wrong questions.

The Bible is more focused on the "why" than the "how."

Eve is not taken aback by the serpent's appearance, nor does she fear his conversation with her. She remains calm and does not flee.

They may have had many conversations before, including talks about friendship.

"Eve can’t recognize the evil intent because it’s not coming from an enemy. It’s coming from a friend."

At a crucial moment, the serpent's deception does the real damage: 'Did God really say...?'

Eve fails to detect malicious intent because it's originating from a trusted source.

He hides his deceit with the phrase 'Did God actually say…?'

God's words were misinterpreted to convey a meaning different from their original intent.

If you don't trust God, you're implicitly trusting in something else.

If Eve is not putting her trust in God, she is relying on her own judgment to determine what is right and wrong, good and evil.

Her relationship with Adam begins with her giving him the forbidden fruit.

Instead of admitting his disobedience, he shifts the blame onto Eve and then onto God for giving him Eve.

He no longer refers to her as "my wife," but instead calls her "that woman."

Here, the family breakdown began because neither of them fully relied on God.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

2. Our strengths are often prime targets of spiritual attacks

Our talents often define us as individuals.

Taylor Swift's success can also be a source of pride and illusions about her ultimate value.

"Good things that become ultimate things become our reason for being — and they are prime for spiritual attacks."

She's an extremely talented singer, songwriter, and poet who is also quite beautiful and has become astonishingly prosperous, with a net worth estimated to be $1.1 billion.

Although her latest album has received criticism from some Christian leaders, who claim that it mocks God and Christians, one example cited in a recent Christian Post article is the song "Guilty As Sin" by Taylor Swift, where she sings, "What if I roll the stone away? / They're gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy."

In a different era, it would be considered sacrilegious to ridicule the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the foundation of Christianity, and to assert that earthly romantic love is superior or equal to the divine love of God, the Creator.

Today, Swift is successful in every arena that the secular culture values.

In the film about the Eras Tour, she is heard saying, "I simply desire to be on the right side of history."

Yet the Lord of history is more concerned about our eternity.

Our reason for being is the ultimate things that we hold dear, but if we do not surrender them to God, they can lead to our spiritual destruction.

The talent becomes the false "hinge" on which life hangs.

3. Spiritual attacks often happen when we're most vulnerable

Millions of Orthodox Christians are currently observing Holy Week, marking the culmination of the Lenten season, which leads to Pascha (Easter, on May 5). Lent is a period of spiritual reflection, prayer, and fasting, symbolizing the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, where He was tempted by Satan.

At the conclusion of his 40 days of fasting and prayer, Jesus was physically and emotionally weakened.

Jesus is tempted by Satan with sustenance: "If you're truly the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread."

Jesus responds, "Human beings do not survive on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God's mouth."

"Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

He offers Him safety and shelter, implying, "If God cared for you, He would do this or that ... He wouldn't make you suffer."

Do not test God.

The third temptation is the allure of wealth, influence, and recognition, which often involves making a pact with the devil to obtain our desires, at the cost of worshipping them.

Satan, Jesus responds, 'Depart from me, for it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone."'

Satan uses a distorted interpretation of Scripture to tempt Jesus, but Jesus counters with the correct interpretation and meaning of Scripture.

Belief in God will always be tested by the conflict between the sacred and the secular.

Little by little, the subtleties can draw us away from God.

We must always remember because God loved the world so much.

My journey of love through this new daily devotional, "Light For Today," was to understand and have faith in the love described in the Bible as 'a love that surpasses all understanding.'

To be certain of what God promises: "I will always be with you and never abandon you."

The speech given at the Lenten Retreat at the Greek Orthodox group, Archons of the Ecumencal Patriarchate, on April 20, 2024, served as the basis for this article.

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