1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Kunle Olabode

The Christian journey is that of a pilgrimage to the kingdom of God. It requires continuous undertaking until completion. The journey's duration is not predictable by anyone. It is therefore very needful to go on this journey with God. He is the one to dictate the terms but no one can ever regret total obedience to Him. Enoch, Noah and a host of others obeyed His terms and they did not regret doing so. So is it for every other Christian traveler (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).

Important Hints

Christians must note the following about falling because this doesn't just happen unless they make it happen:

• Learn from the mistakes of others: Those who learn from the mistakes of others avoid the wounds that result from falling (1 Corinthians 10:5-12)
• Listen to sound advice: Pay attention to the admonitions of those who have walked the way before, and benefit from their experiences - Job 32: 7
• Stay away from slippery grounds: Those who walk on slippery grounds will fall. To be successful, avoid unholy companies (Psalms. 1:1). Anyone who walks too close to a river is likely to end inside it - Proverbs 21:16
• Do not look back: It is vital not to dwell much about past successes and failures, but to concentrate on the goal of avoiding any slip (Phil 3:13-14)
• Avoid overconfidence: No one is too big to fall. One way to be on guard constantly is to take heed - 1 Cor 10: 12. King David committed adultery when he stayed at home instead of being on the war front - 2 Sam 11: 1-2

Benefits Of Consistency

• A major advantage of journeying consistently is that it is never easy to catch up with a person who never stops moving forward. Therefore, if a believer keeps walking, continues moving forward, and also keeps improving steadily, such a Christian would leave his/her competitors behind. Keep walking and you will soon become the envy of those who did not start walking or who stopped walking.

  For example, Isaac started by sowing little in the time of famine - Gen 26:12. Then as he harvested that year a hundred-fold, he sowed more and consequently reaped even much more. Isaac persisted in "walking" that is, in his case, sowing and reaping; he therefore prospered more and more - Gen 26:13. However, he did not stop walking. He walked consistently that within a short space of time, he had gone so far ahead of others and became the envy of a whole nation - Gen 26:14.

  It is also important to remember that the cloud of those who persistently and consistently load it up with sowing gets full of rain sooner than those who do not - Eccl 11:3; 1 Kings 18: 41-46. Keep loading your clouds! Use every opportunity you have to give and soon the abundant rain will come - Gal 6:9-10.

• In contrast, some unpleasant things always happen to those who stop moving.
  
  
  
  • They usually end as, "Had-been", "Ex-this", "Former champion", "Quenched light", "Ashes", et cetera. For example, there was a man in the Bible called Demas. Once he was referred to by Paul as "My fellow-labourer" (Philemon 1:24). He was once ranked as high as Luke, the beloved physician and writer of the gospel of Saint Luke - Col 4:14. However, Demas stopped walking and ended up with a terrible testimony - 2 Tim 4:10. He started the journey but ended a disaster (what a shame!)
  • It is equally distressing to note that those who will not keep walking always end up as mere observers of those who write history. They always get a "ring-side view" of those who keep moving. The 'sons of the prophets' in the days of Elijah and Elisha are an example. Although they had the revelation that something historic was about to happen, they walked as far as the river Jordan and then stopped. While Elisha pressed on with Elijah, these other sons of the prophets got themselves a ring-side view of history in the making - 2 Kings 2:5-8.

    They saw a major miracle happen, but they were not part of it because they stopped. Much more distressing was the fact that they were so close to a unique miracle, the physical "rapture" of Elijah. Yet, they benefited nothing. Only Elisha, the man who kept walking, saw that miracle of a lifetime happen and partook of it - 2 Kings 2:9-14.

  May the Lord help every reader of this article not to stop their Christian journey until they get to the very end...Amen. 

  The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.