DEVOTION: June 10

Find the ones who are faithful. The ones who continue to stand strong when life falls apart. The ones who dig in when temptations abound, and who set their faces like flint. Who flat-out refuse to turn away from God; no matter the pain, the hurt, the disappointment, the unbelief.

Find the ones who are faithful. The ones who have lived some life—not in number of years but in amount of survival. The ones who have been to hell on earth and back but still weep at the thought of God’s goodness. The ones who can empathize and sympathize but can also testify, and with power. Who have not seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging for bread.

Find the ones who are faithful. The ones who know with conviction who they are and Whose they are. The ones who walk in grace and mercy, and are able to extend it to others. The ones who refuse to cheat on God with other idols—idols of money and time and ego and pride. Who find His word fresh and alive and can speak life into you with certainty and clarity.

Find the ones who are faithful. The ones who can help lift you up and out. The ones who walk in love, are joyful in all circumstances, know peace that passes understanding, possess a supernatural patience, speak with kindness, and call forth goodness. Find these faithful ones and refuse to let them go. Follow their examples and sit at their feet. They are our pillars of the faith and the bedrock of the Church.

And there will come a day when you are the faithful one, the one people search to find, to be the one who encourages and edifies them in their journey. And your eyes will fill with joyful tears as you share how it was God’s own faithfulness that kept you faithful all along.

“Make this your one purpose: to revere Him and serve Him faithfully with complete devotion because He has done great things for you.” (1 Samuel 12:24, The Voice)