Faith that breaks through both seen and unseen obstacles, hold onto it.
Luke 23:39-43
³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
⁴³Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
In a moment of desperation and pain, a thief who had been sentenced to death alongside Jesus, reached out to Him and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
It’s truly amazing that despite being on a cross, beaten and with no hope, the thief chose to believe in Christ. He believed in a man who was utterly at the point of death, helpless, mocked and scorned, and rejected by everyone else.
On the other hand, it’s common for many individuals to question why they should trust in Jesus when they are going through challenging times. They may wonder why things are not improving, yet their allegiance remains to God.
Our circumstances do not define our faith. Just because things may not be going well in our lives, it does not mean that God has abandoned us neither does it mean He ceases to be.
“Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
The believing thief did not need to see himself depart from that cross; he simply had to possess unwavering faith. Though he remained affixed to the cross, he had to cling on steadfastly to the assured promise. With this faith, a faith that moved His mountain, Jesus proclaimed: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Not tomorrow, but today. This kind of faith yields immediate results, no wonder it is aptly termed faith-the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Philippians 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
The believing thief exemplifies this profound truth. He did not need to escape the cross to experience salvation; his belief was the key that unlocked Paradise.
Although Jesus declared “Today,”at that very moment, the thief remained on the cross and would ultimately face burial. Nevertheless, the reality of the thief’s presence with Jesus in Paradise was already inscribed in the spiritual realm, awaiting manifestation when Jesus redeemed the souls in Hades shortly after their deaths. Our faith should not be based on what we can do, but on what Jesus has already done for us and so He says: It is Finished.
Romans 3:3
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Regardless of the fact that you feel stuck on that cross, You have the surety of His word and His word is never void for He watches over it to see it come to pass.
Take God at His word and you will not regret Life, envision your life from the better perspective of the word. If faith indeed builds up by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, then keep at the word and let it flourish within you.
Galatians 3:2
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
So, why was Jesus able to confidently say, “Today, you will be with me”? Because He believed in the unseen and the power of His Father’s word as it is surely written in Psalms:
Psalms 110:1
“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
When one feels imprisoned by trials, the challenge is to cling not to sight or immediate relief but to the enduring promise, to the word that never returns void. In this act of trust, even the heaviest cross becomes a pathway of transcendence into eternal peace.
Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
As we constantly meditate on God’s word and hold onto His promises, our faith will be renewed and strengthened, and we will see the manifestation of His promises in our lives.
No matter how hopeless our situation may seem, we can find salvation and hope through Him. Let us hold onto the power of God’s word and the assurance of His promises, even when we find ourselves at the foot of the cross. As the saying goes, “when things seem to be falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.” Trust in Jesus and His promises, and you will not regret it.
Prophetic Utterance:
I am anchored in the Word; my salvation and destiny are intricately orchestrated, meticulously fashioned, and ultimately realized. I am in triumph match.
I stand firm in Him because He is absolute in all He does.
Guiding Text:
Acts 7:55-56
⁵⁵”But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, ⁵⁶And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”