Being More Determined

 I am afraid there are some people who are very determined to do the wrong things in their lives. They spend hours conceiving evil plans, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to carry them out. It makes the world we live in a dangerous place, and a place where it is hard to live godly lives. It means that we, as Christians, must be more determined than they are, so we can live like Jesus wants us to live.

The children of Israel were given the task of conquering the land set aside for each tribe. They were supposed to drive out all of the inhabitants of that area, but they failed. The tribe of Manasseh is a good example of why they failed. (Joshua 17:12) The children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of their cities, but the Canaanites were determined to live in the land. The Canaanites were more determined than God's people.

I wonder how determined we are to live godly lives in this ungodly world? The bottom line is that we have to be more determined than the people who would lead us astray and get us off track. We have to be more determined to stay close to the Lord than those who would try to distract us. We have to be more determined to obey God's Word than those who are tempting us to go the way of this world. There can be no compromising.

Determination is hard. It is tiring. It takes a lot of mental and physical energy, but it is worth it. When we are determined to do God's will just as He says to do it, and we are successful, our lives are so much better. God's way always leads to a better life than the ways of this world. That's why it pays to be more determined than the people of this world. God sees us, and He will reward us for that kind of determination.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 18-20.