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Faith in God always wins,

Faith in God never loses,

Faith in God is avoiding all sins,

Faith in God is making righteous choices.

Faith in God makes me a champion,

Faith in God makes Satan afraid,

God can make you stronger than a stallion,

God is the giver of our daily bread.

Even when you seem not to win,

Faith in God will make you victorious,

If you want to overcome sin,

Hold on to God the Creator, the most glorious.

Faith in God will put you above,

If you fear God and show Him love,

If you trust God and Him alone, you serve,

Faith in God will always make you thrive.

Hebrews 11:13 (KJV) – “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

A common saying says, “Good guys finish last.” Dr. Ben Carson says in his book Think Big, “Good guys finish.” These two contrasting statements have confused the majority of the population about which is true. However, many people believe the former statement is truer than the latter. They believe that this cruel world has no place for a good person. Many believe that one can only rise to the heights of financial prosperity through unscrupulous means. Some students firmly think they can only pass an examination by cheating. A couple of times, I have heard relationship advisors advising people not to be good to their partners if they want to be respected.

“By the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unvarying certainty. The reaping testifies to the sowing. Here no pretense is tolerated. Men may deceive their fellow men and may receive praise and compensation for service which they have not rendered. But in nature there can be no deception. On the unfaithful husbandman the harvest passes sentence of condemnation. And in the highest sense this is true also in the spiritual realm. It is in appearance, not in reality, that evil succeeds. The child who plays truant from school, the youth who is slothful in his studies, the clerk or apprentice who fails of serving the interests of his employer, the man in any business or profession who is untrue to his highest responsibilities, may flatter himself that, so long as the wrong is concealed, he is gaining an advantage. But not so; he is cheating himself. The harvest of life is character, and it is this that determines destiny, both for this life and for the life to come.” – Education, Page 108.2, Ellen G. White.

Evil succeeds only in appearance, not in reality. I have heard stories from various criminals and also read about some of them in books such as My Life in Crime by John Kiriamiti. When you listen to their stories, you will notice a familiar pattern. They succeeded for a while when they got into crime, but their success was only sustained briefly. They might have achieved for ten years, twenty years, or even thirty, but they did not commit crimes long before they got arrested and lost everything they had. Some may ask, what about the corrupt politicians who have stolen public funds and they continue to live successful lives?

The individuals in government who practice corruption may not be as successful as we think them to be. Unfortunately, many cannot come out clean and tell us how they regret their actions because, unlike robbers, most are not arrested. Therefore, they cannot come to the public to narrate their regrets because they fear they will be arrested if they do.

However, this does not stop them from facing the consequences and curses that come with stolen resources. Some have died mysterious deaths, and after they died, their families mismanaged all they had accumulated. Some have caused their innocent children to experience curses from their unrighteous actions. Sinful pleasures last only for a season, that season may be one second, that season may be fifty years or even more. All in all, evil and all the ‘good’ it promises does not last long.

When I was in high school, there used to be a group of students who would cheat during exam time, but they still would not be able to score higher than those who had not cheated. In university, I was among the students who thought someone couldn’t pass an examination without cheating. In my first semester, I cheated but did not score excellent grades. My score was slightly above average. It did not take long before I started getting the conviction that I should stop cheating. I did not understand how I would pass without cheating, but I decided to obey that conviction nonetheless. It was when I stopped cheating that I started getting excellent grades. God was gracious in that I would get an A if I studied for an exam without much effort. I would get a B- if I did not study at all.

I remember a particular time we were given an exam. The exam had two sections. I did the first section, but most of the answers I had written, I felt that they were not correct. When I was about to do the second section, time was up. The professor was so strict that he did not allow additional time. The following semester, I feared opening the portal because I did not want to see my exam results, especially for that paper. Something happened that forced me to open it, and when I opened it, I realized I had an A in that exam. Till now, I have never understood how I got that A.

I also remember not studying for a unit/course in Decision Analysis because I was consumed with studying the other units/courses. The exam came, and it was so difficult I knew I had failed. The next semester came, and I was ready to retake that class. When I went to look at my grades, I realized I had a B-. I met the professor and told him, “You gave me a good grade, and I thought I had failed.” He responded by telling me, “You failed; I just decided to give you a good grade.”

When I sat down and analyzed my school experience, I said to myself if it is possible to succeed in school without cheating, it is possible to succeed in life without devious means. Judging from my personal experience and analysis of the general life events of other people, good guys don’t finish last, as it is largely assumed. I have brought most of the problems I have faced, if not all, to myself. God has always been good to me. He has caused me no harm. Therefore, I strongly support Ben Carson’s statement, “Good guys finish.”

All the heroes of faith won. None of them lost. Most of them are dead in the grave awaiting the second coming of Christ. They believed that Jesus would return, and they tightly embraced that belief. Therefore, even though they seemed to lose in the controversial battle between righteousness and evil, they did not fail. Some were mocked and ridiculed, and others were persecuted.

The people who bullied them felt like winners when mocking them, and those who oppressed them felt like winners when they successfully killed them. Whenever a follower of Christ got persecuted, Christianity grew exponentially than before, and more people got converted. These results of people converting put Satan to shame because when he thought he had won, God proved that evil can never win and righteousness will always win. Proverbs 14:34 (KJV) – “Righteousness exalteth a nation.”

Genesis 13:8-11 (KJV) – “⁸ And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. ⁹ Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. ¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. ¹¹ Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.”

“Abraham returned to Canaan “very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.” Lot was still with him, and again they came to Bethel, and pitched their tents by the altar which they had before erected. They soon found that increased possessions brought increased trouble. In the midst of hardships and trials they had dwelt together in harmony, but in their prosperity there was danger of strife between them. The pasturage was not sufficient for the flocks and herds of both, and the frequent disputes among the herdsmen were brought for settlement to their masters. It was evident that they must separate. Abraham was Lot’s senior in years, and his superior in relation, in wealth, and in position; yet he was the first to propose plans for preserving peace. Although the whole land had been given him by God Himself, he courteously waived this right.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 132.1, Ellen G. White.

“Let there be no strife,” he said, “between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 132.2, Ellen G. White.

“Here the noble, unselfish spirit of Abraham was displayed. How many under similar circumstances would, at all hazards, cling to their individual rights and preferences! How many households have thus been rent asunder! How many churches have been divided, making the cause of truth a byword and a reproach among the wicked! “Let there be no strife between me and thee,” said Abraham, “for we be brethren;” not only by natural relationship, but as worshipers of the true God. The children of God the world over are one family, and the same spirit of love and conciliation should govern them. “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another” (Romans 12:10), is the teaching of our Saviour. The cultivation of a uniform courtesy, a willingness to do to others as we would wish them to do to us, would annihilate half the ills of life. The spirit of self-aggrandizement is the spirit of Satan; but the heart in which the love of Christ is cherished, will possess that charity which seeketh not her own. Such will heed the divine injunction, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Philippians 2:4.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 132.3, Ellen G. White.

Genesis 13:14-17 (KJV) – “¹⁴ And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: ¹⁵ For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. ¹⁶ And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.”

Abraham wanted peace with his nephew Lot more than he desired personal prosperity. God had blessed him with large amounts of cattle, silver, and gold. He did not fear losing them, as is the common fear with most affluent people. Abraham cared less about what his cattle were going to feed on. Therefore, when allowing his nephew to choose first, he gave Lot that opportunity, knowing that Lot might choose the most fertile lands.

Abraham esteemed his relationship with his nephew, who was younger to be more valuable than his success. Lot esteemed his prosperity more. Therefore, he took the fertile lands and left the dilapidated places for Abraham. To us ordinary men and women, if we were present in that scene and watched that event happen, we would think that Lot has gained and Abraham has lost. Faith in God always wins. Faith in God never fails.

After the case was settled and Lot left for Sodom, God spoke to Abraham. He told him to look in all four directions of the world: north, south, east, and west. All the land that Abraham saw, God gave him. God gave Abraham the entire land, including what was Lot’s. Without faith, it is impossible to please God because lack of faith blocks God from proving Himself to you. There are many things that God desires to give us, but He can’t because we have little to no faith.

Daniel 3:24-27 (KJV) – “²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. ²⁵ He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. ²⁷ And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”

“In vain were the king’s threats. He could not turn the men from their allegiance to the Ruler of the universe. From the history of their fathers they had learned that disobedience to God results in dishonor, disaster, and death; and that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the foundation of all true prosperity. Calmly facing the furnace, they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so [if this is your decision], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” Their faith strengthened as they declared that God would be glorified by delivering them, and with triumphant assurance born of implicit trust in God, they added, “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 507.3, Ellen G. White.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego seemed to have lost before the eyes of the people who saw them being thrown into the fiery furnace. King Nebuchadnezzar thought he had defeated them because the furnace was heated seven times, and even the people who took the Hebrew boys died. Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful pagan king, but when he saw the Hebrew Boys still alive in that fiery furnace, he called them, “servants of the Most High God.” Faith in God always wins. Faith in God never loses.

Daniel 6:19-22 (KJV) – “¹⁹ Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. ²⁰ And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? ²¹ Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. ²² My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”

King Darius was tricked into signing a decree that would torment Daniel since Daniel was the only one who could not bow down to worship him. Daniel held his allegiance to the One true God. The people could not find any fault against Daniel. Therefore, they tried to find fault in him through his loyalty and obedience to the living God. Daniel had resolved to stick to God, come what may. He knew that the decree targeted him, and he knew that he would be thrown into the lions’ den. He knew that God had the power to deliver him once he was thrown into the lions’ den, and he also understood that it might not be God’s will to save him from being eaten by the lions.

Therefore, he was willing to lose his life rather than place other gods before God. God was all he had, and everything he had gotten, including his high position of authority, came from God. Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den because he refused to worship the king and continued praying to God. His enemies thought they had won, and Daniel had lost since their plot of throwing him in the den was successful. God, being omnipotent, saved Daniel from being eaten by the lions. His enemies who had devised that plot were thrown into the lions’ den and devoured by the lions. Thus, Daniel won against his enemies. Faith in God always wins. Faith in God never loses.

“Once more a proclamation was issued by a heathen ruler, exalting the God of Daniel as the true God. “King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 544.5, Ellen G. White.

“The wicked opposition to God’s servant was now completely broken. “Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” And through association with him, these heathen monarchs were constrained to acknowledge his God as “the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 545.1, Ellen G. White.

Mark 15:29-32 (KJV) – “²⁹ And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, ³⁰ Save Thyself, and come down from the cross. ³¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. ³² Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him reviled Him.”

When Christ was crucified on the cross, He appeared helpless and powerless. He seemed to have lost, and those who crucified Him thought they had won. They celebrated because they had successfully killed Him. They were wrong because, on the third day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Therefore, He was victorious over sin and victorious over death. Faith in God will always win.

Don’t fear to obey God’s commandments because you fear that you will end up as a loser. After knowing about the Sabbath, Pastor Mark Finley’s father decided he would not work on the Sabbath. He lost his job and found it difficult to find another job since most jobs could not allow him to work for them after he told them about his belief on the Sabbath. Finally, he got a job with a Jewish company since most Jews believe in keeping the Sabbath. They gave him a job after he told them he believed in resting on the Sabbath day and not working. He faithfully worked for them, then later opened his own company, which dealt with similar things to the Jewish company. His company was highly successful, and they eventually bought the Jewish company. Faith in God will always make you a champion.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Dear God, give me the courage to worship and serve you at all times, during good and bad times. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Activity

1. What are some of the situations you encounter that make it difficult to obey God? Write them down and ask God to give you victory over them.

Author: Mark Alex   

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