Follow After
Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11–12
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
Follow After
Father, we thank you because no one else can touch our lives and care for us like you. Lord, you are the one who is able to make a way where there seems to be no way. Father, in your mercy, teach us the way we ought to operate in this life, so that we will have good success, in Jesus’ name.
If you are a child of God, there are certain things God wants you to do. Firstly, God desires that you follow after righteousness; do the right things toward your fellow man.
Many of us are so right with God, but so wrong with men.
The Bible says to follow after righteousness first, and then godliness. Why didn’t He put godliness first? Because how you relate to man will determine how well you relate to God. If you do good, think no evil, and give your fellow man his due, which is righteousness, and then turn to God in godliness, there will be a perfect flow. God’s Word says to follow after righteousness and then godliness. Godliness means doing things because of God—going to church to worship Him, to hear from Him, and to honour His Word.
After running the track of righteousness and godliness, we are called to faith. God encourages us to follow after Him. Many of us do not have a relationship with God, but we are practicing religion. It does not work that way. You must be godly for your faith to grow and to work. You must be righteous for God to relate to you. The prayers of the unrighteous are like an abomination to God. After faith, God says to follow love. When you follow after love, you operate in this life through the windows of love and do everything for love’s sake. If you correct, encourage, or praise someone, do it in love. Let love be your operating system in life.
O man of God, follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, and then patience. Many of us are impatient, because we live in an impatient generation. We live in an era of fast food and instant emails; everything is done in a second. But the child of God must cultivate the act of patience even in this environment, because through patience you will inherit the promises. Through patience, God’s purpose for you will be revealed. If you are impatient, you will fall into premature traps and experiences that will cause you to fall before the time of your blessings.
Finally, meekness is necessary, because there is no one with a combination of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, and patience who will not be a great man. Now when you become great, you will find out that there are great temptations. People will pour out accolades on you and tell you how great you are. You will begin to think that you are God. Meekness is having great power but having control over that power. Do not let the promotion, provision, or prosperity that God has given you make you so drunk that you cannot control it. Moses had power but he was the meekest of all men. May God make this your reality in Jesus’ name.
God’s Word also tells us to fight the good fight of faith. If you believe in Jesus, then operate like someone who believes in Jesus. Do not be a submarine Christian, one who surfaces on Sunday and then disappears from Monday to Saturday. If Jesus is your Lord then let Him be your Lord every day, every week, every month, every moment.
Prayer Points:
I pray that God will upgrade you to one who fights the good fight of faith; to one who will lay hold of eternal life, to one who will understand that we are in transit on planet earth. We are waiting for our flight to our permanent destination. If we look at our time on earth as a time when we are in transit; we will say to ourselves, “let me do the things that I came here to do, so that I can go to my permanent address, which is heaven, and lay hold on eternal life.” O Father, help us to live the Christian life. Deliver us from the pitfalls of our generation.
Beloved, living a Christian life is the only possible way to lay hold of eternal life. So if you are not born again pray along with me now and say, “Dear Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you. Write my name in the book of life; give me the grace to follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness, so that I am equipped to fight the good fight of faith.” Amen.
