When I ran my first of five marathons, I saw a runner who looked incredibly fit—he could have been a model on a magazine cover. Yet by mile 12, he was already sidelined and dropped out of the 26.2-mile race. Strength alone wasn’t enough. A champion runner doesn’t just train for speed—he trains for endurance. And that is what God wants us to learn. Obedience and endurance for the long haul. The Israelites learned this lesson the hard way. We have the Holy Spirit. Let's do better!
In Part One, we saw how God left enemies in the Promised Land to test His people in battle. Joshua and Caleb trained them to be warriors, but the test wasn’t just about their ability to fight and win, it was also about their ability to remain faithful devoted ; it was also about their ability to remain faithful, to Him Judges 3:5-6 (NLT) says, “So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And they served their gods.”
God had commanded them not to intermarry with these nations because He knew it would lead them into idol worship. Instead of standing firm in their devotion, they compromised. They won battles but lost their way. Their strength as warriors meant nothing if their hearts weren’t fully devoted to God. ; it was also about their ability to remain faithful, "Because of this, they fell into a devastating cycle: turning from God, being conquered by their enemies, crying out for help, and then being rescued by a judge whom God raised up. This pattern, known as 'The Cycle of Sin,' repeated itself seven times over the 330-year period recorded in Judges. Judges 2:18-19 (NLT) says, “Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on His people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them.”
This Cycle of Sin has repeated itself numerous times since then! The problem wasn’t that God's people lacked physical strength—it was that they lacked faithfulness to God and His instructions of righteousness. Their victories on the battlefield could not compensate for their defeats in faithfulness. They had been trained to fight, but they had not trained their hearts to remain true to God and His ways.
King David’s men became warriors, winning all their battles, yet they were greatly lacking in following God's instructions on how to live for Him. David tried to teach them both. He taught them how to honor God, and they'd hear it in His songs! Psalm 119:9-11 (NIV) – “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Those are the exact words we should pray to God today! We may achieve success in our accomplishments, but let pride, distraction, or temptation not pull us away from God. Satan will use temptations and compromise to draw us off all our life, yet God desires us to be unwavering warriors, not just in winning at what we put our hand to, but also at keeping our hearts pure and living righteously before the watching world, so that they might see Christ in us.
Matthew 5:16 (NKJV) says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." And Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Obstacles and temptations are in our world so we must learn and practice living an unwavering righteous life before God and man—skipping the cycle of Sin!
God does not want us to waver back and forth as His people did at times. Strength without moral clarity and obedience leads to destruction, but moral strength combined with faithfulness to God's ways leads to lasting victory.
So on that note, choose today not just to fight well but to live fully devoted to Him. How do we stay faithful? We guard our hearts. We stay and live in God’s Word. We understand that prayer is our lifeline for God's help and grace and so we become people of prayer that have the spiritual strength to refuse to compromise even in the small things. We choose obedience over convenience, and devotion over distraction. We don’t just train for battle—we train to remain faithful to God's Word in all areas of morality, appropriateness in life.
In closing, be faithful in prayer, asking for God’s help. If you don’t know what to pray, pray this: “Lord, help me to learn and love your word. Help me to remember the words of Jesus, "Without me you can do nothing."
Help me praise you for every good thing you teach me that improves and blesses my life, but help me to be faithful in moral instruction and clarity, being faithful to you always. Keep my heart anchored in obedience, in purity, in your ways, and let my victories be marked not just by success, but by devotion to You. If there is any compromise in my life, show me, and help me turn back to You.” In Jesus name I pray! Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) – “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt
