Vol. 6, No. 21 – May 23, 2021
If You Persist in Doing Right . . .
James 1:12
God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. –James 1:12 NLT
If you persist in doing what is right, do you believe that what is wrong and who is wrong will eventually flee your life? Good question, for it is a major concern in most people’s mind.
One businessman had a personalized letterhead that read: Right is right even if everyone is against it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it. The old Living Bible, a paraphrase, rendered James 1:12 this way: Happy is the man who does not give in and do wrong, when he is tempted, for afterward he will get as his reward the crown of life that God has promised those who love Him. Paraphrases are not always reliable; however, this paraphrase does well to capture the truth.
We are encouraged to spend less time worrying over who is right and take charge of deciding what is right for us (according to God’s truth). Do you let someone else, besides God, decide what is right for you? That is a mistake. Your errors in thinking and action may well be decided by Satan or his cohorts. As a believer, your victories are in keeping with heaven’s preferences. James goes on to say Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one. –James 1:13
It is never too soon to do the right thing. One can never know when acting on an issue will be too late. If we are honest with ourselves, we can always find time to do what is right.
People living rightly understand no one will make it to the top in one fell swoop. Willingness to keep stepping out, one foot after the other, regardless of how rocky the trail of life is, brings God’s encouragement to our lives. We really are what we repeat over and over.
Life Application
John Wesley used many sayings; here is one that ought to draw our attention:
Do all the good you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
At all times you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can
- The bank of life is much different from the investment bank down the street.
- In the bank of life, we draw nothing except what we deposit in the first place.
- There is no interest monetarily.
- The height of a man’s potential is in proportion to his surrender to what is right.
- People of God who live rightly are not left scrounging for God’s intervention.
- Any act of disobedience, read sin, lengthens the distance between one person and another, and affects the outcomes of your dreams.
Realization of your dreams is accomplished by sustained prayer and right action.
