STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH
Carl Drury
Welcome to the LifePoint Men’s Guidance Team Devotional Blog. Our ministry lead verse is 1 Corinthians 16 Versus 13-14. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 – Let all that you do be done in love. (ESV) And today we are exploring what it means to me to “stand firm in the faith”.
When thinking about what it means to stand firm, the position of an athlete comes to mind. If you think about a baseball player who is at bat or ready to field a hit, they are standing in a position of readiness. Legs slightly bent, with intentional focus. The batter is ready to hit the ball and the fielder is ready to field the ball. This position allows them to react quickly when the time is right. Can you imagine if the batter was just standing casually, maybe with his legs crossed, and daydreaming? Would he be ready to hit the ball? Or what about the fielder? What if the fielder was sitting on the ground? Would he be ready to field a ball?
And now let us talk about what faith is. According to Hebrews 11-1, Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (ESV). I also like the King James Version which says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So, we see that faith includes assurance and substance based on conviction and evidence. So how do we have the conviction and evidence we need to have the assurance and substance to live by faith? Don’t these come from knowing God by spending time with him in prayer and studying His Word?
Notice that standing firm in the faith is sandwiched between being watchful and being courageous and strong. These words connect how we can react in a strong and courageous way if we are standing firm in our faith. Too often, I think many of us are caught with our legs crossed and daydreaming. I know it happens to me. Not only am I not being watchful much of the time, I am also not ready to react.
Can you imagine if we were ready to be courageous and strong because we are being watchful and standing firm in our faith? We would have a greater impact with our families, friends, church, community, and the world. What can you do to be ready?
