Stay the Course

Proverbs 11

There are many reminders in this chapter to stay the course. Faithfulness will be rewarded (4, 6, 8, 18-19, 23, 28, 30-31). Conversely, "the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity" (3), and "the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires" (6). Don't be deceived, distracted or daunted. Staying the course will pay off.

This is a good reminder to stay strong and not be discouraged. For me, this means to not lose faith, God will provide a job in time and will provide financially in the mean time. It is easy to skid off track, especially with our attitude and focus. We tend to get wrapped up in this life and soon forget that we are just aliens, foreigners who are passing through this life. Heaven is our home.

Spring and summer, and the nice weather that they bring, are often seasons for drifting off course and getting distracted. In the words of Solomon, we are susceptible to being destroyed by our duplicity (3) and being trapped by evil desires (6). It is easy to get captured and enraptured by the "good" things of this life. King David is a good example of someone who was distracted and eventually, trapped by the "good" things of this life. When the weather got nice David should have taken advantage of it by going off to war. This was his responsibility as king. Instead, he was at home enjoying the sun on his roof top. You know the rest of the story. He got trapped by evil desires. He didn't stay the course.

Year after year I see men, including myself, start to drift at this time of the year. Let's face it, we love the warmth and sunshine, the outdoors and everything that comes with it. Lawns, landscaping, rides and recreation, all become distractions and can easily become traps. Soon our walk and talk with the Lord becomes a distant memory. Occasionally we give him lip service or a pat on the back just so he knows we haven't totally forgotten him. And, of course, we rationalize, "I'll get back to You when I have less important things to do. I'm busy now. You can wait. These things have to be done now. This season of the year flys by so quickly. I need to take advantage of it." Drift off the course and we're trapped. This is unfaithfulness.

Stay the course men! Be faithful! It pays big dividends.