Gittel Fruma came to believe in Jesus after growing up as an Orthodox Jew. Gittel lives with her husband and son in Clearwater, Florida. She is currently working on a book about her testimony and recording her first album. You can find her at her website GittelFruma.com or on Facebook at @GittelFrumaMusic.
T H E P O W E R O F PAT I E N T P E R S E V E R A N C E by Gittel Fruma Fear is a substance. It fills and spreads where it finds space. It suffocates and darkens any place it enters. Remember the last time you picked up the phone to receive bad news. Do you remember how fear gripped your heart and stole your breath from your lungs? That is the substance of fear.
Our faith is in Jesus Christ, in His birth through the Holy Spirit, His sinless life, His death for our sins, and His resurrection to eternal glory as the King and Coming Savior of our world. Our faith is in Christ, the Word of God, Who granted us “His precious and very great promises.” (2 Peter 1:4 ESV)
Now faith is an altogether different substance. Faith stills your mind on Christ and pours life into your veins. Faith stands you up and gives you the strength to go on. Faith says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear.” Faith is the substance we have access to as believers in Jesus.
It is these promises that carry us in our time of need. These promises are what we hold on to when fear tries to supplant faith.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV) This word “assurance” in Greek refers to a foundation, a structure, a substance, a guaranteed reality. We are not assured in our ignorance of something imaginary. We are assured of our foundation, of a real substance that grounds and guides us in everything we do. Faith is the spiritual law of gravity. It needs no introduction or explanation. Spiritual beings see it and are aware of it. This is why we walk by faith. 64 | M AG A Z I N E N A M E PAGE 3 63
We all have the promise of salvation in Christ, the promise of citizenship in the Kingdom of God which cannot be shaken. We have the manifold promises in the Word of God to His people, to those Who love Him and serve Him. We may also have personal promises spoken to us by the Holy Spirit Himself or through His prophets. We have these promises, precious and very great. But these promises will get us nowhere if we let go of them. “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36 ESV)
