Fair Weather Children

I coined this phrase from the old phrase, "fair weather friend". If you do not know what this phrase means, it means being friends with someone when the going is easy, but when the ride gets rough, you abandon ship. So, i designed the title, Fair Weather Children to mean that when the going is easy we seem sooo committed to following God, but when the going gets tough, we are nowhere to be found or are running away as fast as we can. Over the last couple days, I have been led to a couple different Biblical stories that go-along with this phrase. They are Peter betraying Jesus 3 times, the story of Job, the many times in the book of Revelation where it says that only those who overcome the hardships will inherit the kingdom, John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." and finally in the book Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon. I want to focus on what Spurgeon says about being a Fair Weather Child and then look at John 16:33(above).

The evening devotional for June 6th is based on the passage of 2 Corinthians 11, specifically verse 22. In this passage, there is argument over who is a true Israelite and who is not, based on blessings and good things.. The apostle was fighting with the other people because he knew his claim was indisputable. After Spurgeon laid out the foundation of the passage, he expanded on it, and he critiqued it in a way that we could apply it to our lives. He goes on to say, "... there are many persons who have no right to the title who yet claim to belong to the Israel of God." Spurgeon suggests that, before, we make these claims and confess it in-front of many witnesses we truly think about what we are doing and commit ourselves. He suggests that we search our hearts and let God work in them so that He can help us through difficult situations, this is where the Fair Weather Children come in. Many people lift their hands towards heaven when they sing a worship song, or say "amen, praise Jesus" when they hear a good thought in the sermon. But when the going gets tough, they are nowhere to be found. In the New Testament, Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits." How many times are we the Fair Weather Children? When everything is going good, we are as happy as clams and are praising Jesus just about as fast as we can breathe, but when the going gets tough, we throw a pity party for ourselves and invite all of our friends. We need to ask God to change our hearts, and give us the mentality of praise no matter what the circumstances.

John 16:33 is a great passage because Jesus is confirming with us that we will face trouble in this life-time, but He also says that we shouldn't fear anything we face because He has already overcome everything that this world can throw-at a person. John 16:33 is a great encouragement to me, because it reminds me what my true character should be like. If we let it, it will affect every facet of our lives, because our attitude and the way we treat others are big parts of our lives. If we truly are committed to God, then people will truly see that commitment. This is a great way to be a witness to non-believers.

One final, short thought.. think about the story of Job and everything that happened to him.. His reaction to the bad things that happened to him was, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." -Job 1: 21-22

What is your reaction during hard times? I know mine needs a lot of work! Thanks for reading