REFUSING THE EASY WAY

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

REFUSING THE EASY WAY

READ:  Daniel 1:1-8

Daniel purposed in his heart that he would

not defile himself.  Daniel 1:8

Looking out the window of an airplane, you can see the winding paths of rivers below.  Except for some man-made waterways, all rivers have one thing in common-they all are crooked.  The reason is simple-they follow the path of least resistance.  Rivers find their way around anything that blocks their flow because they take the easy way.

The same can be said for some people.  Because they fail to resist the devil, they yield to temptation and deviate from the path God would have them follow.  Unlike Daniel, who “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself”  (Daniel 1:8), they bend to worldly pressures and compromise what they know is right.

Writing to followers of Christ, John said that we can be victorious in our struggle against evil because “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).  Rather than being overcome, we can be overcomers.  Nothing should deter us from the course God wants us to travel.  We don’t have to yield to any temptation or foe.  The Holy Spirit who lives in us will strengthen us so that we can remain steadfast.

We won’t become “crooked” if we refuse to follow the path of least resistance.    RDH

You won’t go astray on the straight and narrow way.