Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
We have a loaded verse today. In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verses 13 and 14, it says: "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love." Wow- that is a loaded verse. But if we break it down...
Be On Guard
The first part is "be on guard." The biggest thing is be attentive. Be alert. Be aware of what's going on around you. That is extremely important, isn't it? Especially in today's world. If we're really concerned and understand that we're in a spiritual battle every day we wake up, then we have to be alert.
That doesn't mean we walk around in fear, anxiety, or stress because "oh my goodness, what's going to happen?" It's a matter of just being alert and being aware of what's going on around you. We'll get into the other part of, how do you handle the stress of always looking for something? It's not necessarily looking for something as much as just being alert and being on guard.
Stand Firm in Your Faith
The next part is "stand firm in your faith," or in other words, anchored. Are you anchored in your faith? The beautiful thing about what all of these verses entail and what these challenges are about—being firm, standing firm in your faith—is we know from 1 Corinthians chapter 3 it says Jesus is our foundation. He is our rock.
When we talk about standing firm in our faith, we have to be grounded on Jesus and His teaching in the Word of God. We have to, because if we're not, He's the One that holds the monopoly on a firm foundation. So without Him, everything else is sand that we're building on. It's a matter of making sure we're in the Word of God, we're spending time with the Lord, we're walking with Him on a daily basis to stand firm in our faith. Because that way—I love the song for Easter time, where they say, "I spoke to Him this morning"—you have the ability to speak to Him every morning, every day, in every waking moment, if you wanted to. That's part of standing firm in your faith. We are constantly firm in what we believe and not being able to be wavered back and forth depending on what's going on in our life or what people are saying. We're standing firm. We're anchored, immovable from our foundation of Jesus.
Be Courageous and Be Strong
The next part: "be courageous and be strong." You know what I love about that? All of these things—be aware, stand firm—these are more about taking action. Being strong, being courageous is about taking action. It's one thing to be aware, but it's another thing if you're being courageous and you're being strong. That strength is what allows you to move forward, to plunge ahead.
A lot of people have a skewed perception of courage. Courage is not the absence of fear. It's actually the willingness to move forward and press forward in spite of it. That's the beauty of what we find in Scripture. In 2 Timothy, Paul talks to Timothy and said, "He has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind." Fear causes us to draw back, and living in the Spirit of God, being courageous, being strong allows us to push forward.
Do Everything with Love
The last part says, "do everything with love." The important thing is- notice it didn't start off with that. It could just say, "do everything with love." Well, love can be perceived in different ways, can be perceived as feelings, and that can take us a whole bunch of different ways. We love somebody, and so we're just doing all of these things to love on people.
I love how this is the last thing, because everything else is "be courageous, be strong, come on!" But do everything with love. We're in a battle, but it's a spiritual battle. When we're fighting the battle, everyone should know and experience God's love through us in the midst of the struggle.
Be courageous. Stand firm. Be attentive. Be looking for what God has for you today.
