Be Strong – Being a Pilgrim

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.”
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

We’re considering two short verses containing three “Be’s”, a “stand”, and a “Do”, all action words requiring effort to apply in a world where passivity seems to be the norm. Although these verses were written to the early Christians in Corinth, they equally apply to Christians today. Then, as now, society was largely biased against believers in God, choosing instead to pursue gods of the people’s own making. And at the root of the lives of unbelievers was the propensity to pursue sinful activities that titillated their hedonistic tendencies. Such a root often sparked a “what’s in it for me” response when situations arose that required a more positive solution. So Paul, seeing the dangers, wrote about the care a believer should take to avoid being sucked into behaviour that was sinful and against God’s expectations for His children.

Just thinking about Paul’s exhortation to “Be strong” perhaps reminds us of something that Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it”. In John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress”, the Narrow Gate, which he also called the Wicket Gate, is the crucial first entrance to the King’s Highway. It symbolises the deliberate choice to begin the Christian life by turning to Christ for salvation from the City of Destruction, representing repentance, faith, and leaving the world behind to find relief from sin’s burden. I always imagine a road on which many people are walking. They don’t know it is going to lead to an eternal death, but it seems a relatively easy path to take, and, anyway, everyone is going that way, so it can’t be all bad, can it? But then, covered in weeds and almost hidden, is a small gate made of wood and of the type found in many a garden. Perhaps curiosity takes a person through the gate onto the way that leads to God. But the path is heavy going, and many obstacles are in the way, and when it becomes too hard, a glance to the rear shows that the broad road is only a step away. In such circumstances, Paul encouraged those early Christians, and by implication, we Christians today, to “Be strong” and keep going on the “narrow road” because, whether we like it or not, there are times when we need to be strong.

Perhaps we have woken up this morning feeling a bit lazy, but because it is a Sunday, we decide to give church a miss. Just once won’t really matter, will it? And we snuggle down under the duvet to enjoy another hour or two of sleep. Or perhaps someone in the office where we work is organising a night out to somewhere we would feel uncomfortable being in, but we don’t want to upset anyone, do we? Perhaps we decide to join in, with the thought that maybe we could leave a bit earlier. It is on occasions such as these that we need to “Be strong”. As many Christians have found out, the Narrow Way and the Broad Way are paths that we cannot walk on at the same time.

Jesus made the choice clear when He was teaching about money and possessions. We read in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money”. We cannot live a worldly life and a Godly life at the same time. Joshua set out the choice that must be made to the Israelites, as we read in Joshua 24:15, “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord”. Joshua knew all about what making the wrong choice meant.

“But those who trust in the Lord
will find new strength.“

So today, dear fellow pilgrims, what choice are you making? Yes, the battle is hard to fight. Yes, we’re tired, and we think that sometimes it will be so much easier to slip back into our old ways. There was a time when disciples left Jesus because His teachings were too hard for them. John 6:60, 66, “Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” … At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him”. In the next verse we read Jesus’ response, “Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”” But Peter’s reply was one that has reverberated down the ages ever since; “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God”” (John 6:68-69). That is what being strong means, so we turn to Isaiah 40:29-31, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”. Can we feel ourselves being lifted up today? With an inner strength, we look forward, not along a path that leads to hell, but one that leads to eternal life.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for supporting us in the hard times and encouraging us when we stumble and fall. Thank You too for carrying us when we’re too tired to go on, and helping us to be strong when we need to be. We worship You today. Amen.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT

We pilgrims are aware that the devil is on the prowl, and we are at our most vulnerable when we do something for God that is very visible in our families and communities. New Christians in particular are in the devil’s sights because, if he can, he will cause them so many problems that they give up almost straight away. Jesus taught about this in the parable of the sower, and, unusually, he explained it to His disciples. We read in Matthew 13:19-22, “The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced”. Notice that there are three categories of person who succumbs to the devil’s ploys. There are those whose spiritual eyes are blinded, preventing them from understanding the Good News. There are those who hear and understand it, but lack the perseverance to press through any difficulties that come their way. And there are those who get caught up with living in a certain way and pursue wealth to support their lifestyles. All methods that the devil uses to ensure a believer won’t cause him any difficulties.

The devil is very subtle in the way he tempts people. Look at the way he drew Eve away into sin. We read the story in Genesis 3, but the key opener was “Did God really say …?” The devil will work with our human nature to birth sin in our lives, and there is that desperately sad verse at the end of Judges, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The same applies today, with people who have no moral compass, who lack God’s presence in their lives, and go on to live a life, debased by the devil and his evil lies. Their own twisted logic is influenced and matured by the devil, who devours them and then uses them for his own wicked ways.

We are not on our own in matters of temptation. Peter wrote that the “family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering” that they were. To the early believers, a very real temptation was to alleviate the suffering by renouncing their new-found faith. But Peter’s answer was for them to “stand firm” and “be strong in [their] faith”. The Apostle Paul wrote some great practical instructions for the Ephesian church. We read what he said in Ephesians 6. “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11). He explains in a little more detail some information about how the devil devours. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Peter used the illustration of the devil prowling around but he has a whole contingent of “mighty powers”, and “evil spirits” all doing his bidding. We pilgrims need to be on our guard and constantly alert to those weak spots where the devil will find us the most vulnerable. We mustn’t forget that around us are other fellow believers who are fighting the same battles. So we pray for them and get them to pray for us. And we ask the Bible Author to show us the resources we need to help us in times of need.

Dear Father God. We pray again for Your help in our lives. We cannot fight the devil on our own and we thank You for the resources You have given us. Amen.