The challenge seemed too much to bear, and he struggled with the temptation to simply turn back. In his struggle, he had to answer a burning question; "If I turn back, what am I turning back to, and what am I turning away from?" And so it is with you and I. In our struggle against the temptations to sin either by falling into dead religion, or falling into indulgent sin, we need to consider what turning back for a break will mean. This is an active turning back toward a life of sin and misery, and an active turning away from the prospect of eternal glory.
Christian also began to become confused and think blasphemous thoughts. This is a sad temptation we still face--when we are struggling, we begin to question the wonderful character of God. Here we consider some of the typical ways in which struggling people question God, and how we can know God's love in our struggles beyond question.
Christian learns the critical lesson that the Valley of the Shadow of Death was MORE ABOUT learning to live by principle and not by feelings, THAN it was about the actual obstacles he faced. The issue here is Christian character development, not the unique obstacle the Christian is facing.
Wonderfully, Christians who learn this lesson are Christians who are able to see where they are going and are able to navigate further obstacles more skilfully and joyfully.
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