"Cultivate Faithfulness"

"Trust in the LRD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness" (Ps 37:3). 

     During my college years an older friend of mine shared this verse with me when I was wrestling with uncertainties about the future.  College years are times of challenge and growth.  Many tests come.  Many decisions are made.  Sometimes things seem clear and straight-forward.  Other things are less clear.  Young people do not have the perspective that experience gives.  Many things are new.  Many beliefs and convictions that are based partly on experience but mostly on what one has been taught.  Many convictions have yet to be tested.  Testing is not bad.  It is part of the natural process of growing up.  During every junction of life decisions, convictions help guide us.  As we grow we learn to cling to what we believe is true or perhaps refine our thinking on it.  Challenges faced well help us hold more tightly to what is true.  They help us let go of wrong thinking.  Sometimes it is hard to discern the difference between the two.  That is when it is helpful to have other believers remind you of the Truth as you regularly fellowship with them.  
    Everyone will encounter hardship.  It is a part of life.  One danger is letting the experience dictate what you believe is true, instead of holding onto the Truth through it.  Hardship helps us get rid of blind spots and wrong thinking.  If faced well, challenges refine our thinking and convictions so that we follow the Truth more closely and solidly.  If not faced well, it can weaken our convictions and potentially lead people to walk away from Truth.  However, when people choose this path, they end up wandering and building their lives on the sand.  When the storms comes, their lives are shaken and can be destroyed because they are not built solidly built on the foundation of unchanging Truth.  
    When the future seems uncertain, the best thing to do is "cultivate faithfulness" to God.  When we do not know what is ahead, aligning our lives with the Truth will eventually help us to find the Right Path to walk.  Like a compass, when we walk in the direction of Truth, we will eventually find our way out of uncertainty and discover which way we need to go.