Stay the Course of Faith

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Let us not give in to the games of the devil, but rather, let us be steadfast on this faith journey.

Today’s devotional reading: 1 Kings 21:1-16

As the world continues to succumb to the darkness of sin, you must stay the course. God’s children are to be lights in the world, and that can be incredibly hard to do for many of us as are faithfulness is constantly tested. Yet, I encourage you to have the faithfulness of a man whose name was Naboth.

Naboth was a man who lived during the days of wicked King Ahab, a king of Israel. Ahab reigned in the northern kingdom at a time when the northern kingdom was completely taken over by wicked men. At that time, Israel had built their own temple so that those in the northern tribes didn’t have to go to Jerusalem. Rather than worshiping the Lord, those of the northern kingdom were given over to the worship of Jezebel’s god, Baal.

Naboth was one of the very few in that region whose way was committed to the Lord. Rather than move unlawfully, Naboth chose to stay true to the law, which annoyed Ahab and angered Jezebel. For his faithfulness, Nabth was plotted against and killed by Jezebel’s scheme. One may think that Naboth lost, but there is no losing when one remains faithful to God!

Regardless of how the wicked may try to force you to move unlawfully or get you to act out of character, I encourage you to stay the course of faith. The wicked may call you all kinds of names; they may even threaten your life, yet I remind you that your soul is in the Lord’s hands. God does not forget our labor of faith and will reward all that we have endured in our walk of faith (Heb. 6:10).