A soldier in boot camp will jump out of bed before dawn every morning to run and do push-ups. He may not like it, but he’ll do it because his commanding officer has ordered him to do it. He endures the discomfort because he knows it’s an inescapable part of military life.

A civilian, on the other hand, might start an exercise program, but when the going gets tough, his muscles feel sore and his schedule gets busy, he’ll just quit exercising. If someone asks him about it, he might just shrug and say, “I tried exercise, but it didn’t work for me.”

Some Christians are like that. They hear the Word of faith and they think, Well, I’ll try that. Then when the hard times come, they give up.

But that’s not how it should be. After all, we’re not civilians! We’re soldiers! We don’t try faith, we make it our lifestyle. We walk by faith, whether it’s hard or easy. We don’t do it so we’ll be blessed. We do it because we’re determined to be pleasing to Jesus. He is our commander in chief, and the Bible says without faith, it is impossible to please Him.

Of course, we will end up blessed if we’ll walk by faith. We’ll end up healed and delivered and prospering in every area of life because God promised we would. That, however, is not our motivation. We’re motivated by our desire to serve the Lord. That’s what makes us believe His Word, stand fast and endure when the hard times come.

Speak the Word

I walk and live by faith so that I can please God. (Hebrews 11:6)