FRIDAY, 13TH JUNE, 2025
STAND FIRM—REFUSE TO COMPROMISE – Pastor Chris
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:2).
You may find yourself buffeted by pressures and persecutions on every side for the sake of the Gospel; don’t despair. What you’re doing has a future. Your labour in the Lord is not in vain; it is purposeful and eternal. God never promised that everything would be smooth or without challenges. He told us there would be difficulties, trials and adversaries. But in the midst of them all, He assured us of His presence and victory.
Recall what we read in our opening scripture; He didn’t say there would be no tempest or fire. The promise is not the absence of challenges but the assurance of His presence and protection for you in the midst of adversities. It helps you understand the reason He says, “Count it all joy when you go through diverse tests” (James 1:2).
The Bible tells us in Daniel 3 about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, three young men who stood firm in their faith despite fierce opposition. Their story is often remembered for the fiery furnace and their miraculous deliverance, but there’s more to it. Before they were thrown into the flames, they faced condemnation, rejection and false accusations. They endured hatred and opposition simply because they refused to compromise their faith.
2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”*_ So, there’re things you’ll have to face, go through, stand against and confront for you to live the godly life that the Lord has given you. There may be adversaries on every side, but in the midst of them all, you’re more than a conqueror. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, _*“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). He assures in Matthew 28:20 (NIV), “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Set your eyes on the future and on His glory. Refuse to be distracted by the temporary challenges. Be confident that no matter what, His Word will prevail in your life and His glory will always be revealed in and through you.
CONFESSION
I stand firm in faith, irrespective of the challenges or oppositions, because the greater One lives in me. God’s Word puts me over every trial, and I walk in perpetual victory. Thank you Lord for your presence, your protection, and your Word that never fails, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY
1 Corinthians 15:57-58
But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Romans 8:31-37
What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? [It is] God that justifieth. 34 Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
2 Corinthians 4:17 AMPC
For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: Acts 4:1-31 & 2 Chronicles 16-19
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Luke 1:26-38 & Deuteronomy 11
