Stay The Course

“So, the LORD said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know: Am I my brother's keeper? And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth. And Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear!... Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.”

(Genesis 4:6-13 & 16)

Genesis chapters three and four provide us a look into the home of the first family. One thing we know about the first family is that they were not a same sex couple... it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. The first family had problems. Every marriage and every family has highs and lows. There are no perfect marriages or perfect families. If your family is flawed and fractured, know this today that there is God... there is a God that can intervene in your situation and bring healing to that which is bruised and broken.

In today’s text, we see Cain murder his own brother. Inflamed with hate, jealousy and bitterness, Cain committed an act that would forever overshadow his life. One of the things we have learned from this is that Satan’s ultimate goal is not just to get us to do something we shouldn’t do, or, not do something we should do. His goal is to influence us to walk away from God. Notice what Cain did: “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord…”. How tragic. The doctrine of eternal security is countered by the reality that a Christian can willfully choose to walk away from God, at any time. Consider with me the following statements from the Word of God:

• “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” (John 8:31)

• “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” (John 15:6)

• “And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in his sight - if indeed ye continue in the faith…” (Co. 1:21-23)

Salvation nor service to the Lord is a life of ease. As never before, there must be a holy resolve to stay the course with God. Distraction, discouragement, and disappointment will come. Stay the course! You may become weary in well doing… but stay the course! The problems and pressures of dealing with people may push you to a point of giving up. Stay the course! It’s one thing to start…. quite another to finish.

May the Lord grant us to do what Cain did not do…. may we walk towards God, fall at His feet, and stay there until we are restored, refreshed and refired in our spirit for God. God’s promise is that He will complete that which He has started in us…. if we stay the course!