Keep the Faith
Open Your Bible
2 Timothy 4:5-22, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, James 1:12, 1 John 3:1-5
BY Scarlet Hiltibidal
I’ve moved seventeen times in my thirty-five years. The whole deal: put stuff in boxes, new neighborhood, new friends, new life.
And I’ve loved most of those moves. I really have. The thing is, I like a fresh start. I enjoy a different grocery store. I love the feeling of newness, possibility, and mail-forwarding.
Some of that is probably personality. Sometimes, I was happy to move because I felt God doing something and I was excited to be part of it. But, if I’m honest, some of those moves seemed more like escapes. Sometimes, life felt hard and packing up felt like the eject button that would free me from a circumstance that might require perseverance, patience, discipline. Bleh. That’s three terrible sounding words for a person stuck in self-centeredness.
Maybe you’ve had seasons like that. Maybe your heart has been distracted from God’s beauty and God’s Word, and your flesh tends to walk in fear and to get stuck in discouragement. To look for an escape, rather than looking for how God might use you to love who you’re with and worship Him with your life.
But, God’s wisdom in passages like today’s reminds us that we can walk out our faith with courage and endurance, because the Lord Himself goes before us and will be with us, never leaving or forsaking us (Deuteronomy 31:8). His Word reminds us it is worth it to stay.
What beautiful encouragement Moses gave to Joshua, and what a beautiful truth we can carry with us when fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith feel hard or scary. God goes with us. God stays with us. Enduring always means the presence of God.
I don’t know how many moves I have in my future, or if God’s planted me where I’m at for good, but I know the reason I can finish any race is because Jesus Christ is with me. He finished the race where we didn’t. He finished the race when we couldn’t even start. Because of Him, we know there is a glorious crown of life in our future.
My tendency may be to run away from conflict and pain, but after decades of walking with the Lord and trying to shape my life around His Word, He’s shown me that there is so much blessing in staying close to Him, close to His Word, close to His will. There is so much joy that comes from enduring.
Stay in the race. Keep the faith. Remember that what might feel bleh to our flesh can feel like a blessing when we are walking in His Spirit.
30 thoughts on "Keep the Faith"
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I desperately needed this today. It felt like ministry was too hard to keep going. Thank you. So grateful for Gods living word.
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This was beautiful, Scarlet. Thank you for sharing. Sometimes escape can feel like an easy way out and still be a huge challenge of its own. Perseverance is a challenge.
Praying for you all and your families. Gayle- congrats on retirement. You have finished that particular race!
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GAYLE, so exited for you! Congratulations on your retirement! Will be praying with you for direction in what God has next for you. BROOKE, thank you for the update! Will continue to pray for you and your precious baby- that all kidney issues will resolve, for a healthy remainder of your pregnancy and delivery, and complication-free nursing!
KARIN, so happy to hear that your granddaughter is home and feeling God’s peace. -
Blessed is the man who endures temptations/trials for when he has been proved, there is the promised crown. Hallelujah. I am in a current trial right now struggling with the relationship with my mom. And enduring hurtful opinions and different faith understandings is a real trying furnace for me. It’s a trap leading to fruitless arguments. This verse James 1:12 is the encouragement that gives me hope to endure and persevere. The devil after all comes after us for the Word’s sake (Mark 4:17) and without deep roots we can’t endure. Ladies I would appreciate your prayers for our relationship to see better days. I thank God for you all. Be blessed dear beautiful she’s.❤️
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So just a couple of days ago read these same Scriptures in my “Portraits of Devotion” by Beth Moore. At the end of the devotion she writes, “God is not simply trying to snatch us from danger. He desires to draw us to Himself spiritually, then one day physically. When our ultimate rescue comes God’s purpose is to deliver us to Himself —– safely.” I thought this really summed up what Paul was saying to Timothy.
Scarlet also touched on it in her last paragraph, “Stay in the race. Keep the faith. Remember that what might feel bleh to our flesh can feel like a blessing when we are walking in His Spirit.”
We need to remember God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS WITH US and no matter what we do we can ALWAYS ask God for forgiveness.
Be bless and stay in the Word and don’t just listen, do, sisters. -
Needed to read this today. I’m at a point in our ministry that it feels easier to start over than to endure. God gives the grace and strength to carry on, press on, and endure to the end. ❤️
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