1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV) Continued

Just like Paul, we are the called. God is the Caller. We are the servants. Jesus Christ is King.

The thought of what God wants us to do may be overwhelming, but we are not the ones who will bring it to pass. Christ in us does the work. The Holy Spirit is our power. He only requires our willingness to follow Him one day at a time.

He does the rest.

And so, Paul says to us in 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

After we submit to His calling and decide with our will to move forward in obedience, we hold tight to these prized and valued words of instruction.

Our journey with Christ is a journey of faith, which He tests, stretches and grows in us all along the way. What we believe is paramount to our well-being and success.

Shield Yourself

The enemy of our souls tries to distract, deceive and pull us down, so we must be on watch, recognizing the incoming fiery darts of the deceiver, Satan.

Ephesians 6:16 says, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

Those fiery darts are lies, and they come in many different ways—from other people, from our own emotions and from false evidence we see and hear in the world. Some Greek meanings of the word “watch” you might expect are: keep awake, and be vigilant. Some other more surprising ones are: to waken or rouse from sleep, from disease, from death, from obscurity, from inactivity; rise up.

Maybe one or more of those meanings specifically help confirm what you’ve heard the Lord whispering to you. Digging into the Word of God can clarify many things and help us move in the right direction.

Keep Your Shield Up

When we do rise up and accept the calling of God upon our lives, it is imperative we take our shield of faith with us. According to Ephesians 6:16 above, it is our shield of faith that quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Note in our Verse of the Day, 1 Corinthians 16:13, it also says, “…be brave, be strong.”

Along our journey of faith, there are wonderful and beautiful surprises, but there are also perilous pitfalls, which require us to be brave and strong, just as Moses told Joshua when it was time to lead the people into the Promised Land. (Joshua 1:9)

To be great in the Kingdom of God, He must prepare us. All of our life experiences have been a training ground for the grand call of God upon our life. He doesn’t expect us to do anything without His help, so let’s look up and acknowledge our weakness as His strength. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13)

Christ rose up through Paul in amazing ways, and so He will do with each one of us who choose to accept His call. It’s time.

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

Study the Bible verse of 1 Corinthians 16:13, and walk in your calling from the Lord.

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