Daily Devo
Keeping the Faith
By: Kelly Russell
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7
Modern life has people shuffling around like robots, doing some of this and some of that. The enemy weaves a blanket of deception and confusion and throws it over the eyes of many. Paul suffered much hardship, but he measured victory by contentment, not comfort.
Paul learned that keeping the faith meant:
- Believing God’s promises
- Trusting God’s provision
- Submitting to God’s power
The Greek word for “kept” is tereo, which means “to guard, or watch over.” Paul kept the faith by guarding the Gospel and fulfilling his calling. Peter describes faith as having greater worth than gold. And faith is trusting more in what you cannot see than in what you can see, to the point that you guard your faith as fiercely as the gold stored in Fort Knox.
All of us are running the race of life, but one day it will end. Though our race may feel wearisome, focusing on the purpose helps us persevere. The worst outcome is to spend our whole lives running the wrong race, investing time and effort that results in exhausted spirits and empty promises. In a worldly race, only first place receives a prize. But for Christians, heaven is our reward!
If you reflect on a time when you stepped out to serve God more, there was likely a bit more squeezing. That is by design. Trials aren’t welcome, but they are certain. Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus requires lessons only learned when the natural order is disrupted. So, God arranges circumstances to prove that our faith is in Him and not in anything else. It’s not about acquiring more information but developing greater intimacy with your heavenly Father.
We all wrestle with tough situations, but we can choose faith while we endure. Sometimes, we trust Google more than God. Faith can’t be analyzed, only applied. Exercising our faith won’t explain the “why,” but it will reshape our perspective. We won’t always get it right, but when we are faithless, God is still faithful. Our best solutions fall short of His wisdom.
So, ask yourself, “When I get where I'm going, will I be where I want to be?”
Are you guarding the faith God has entrusted to you? The struggles in life are real, and they are hard. The light, momentary afflictions seem heavy and never-ending. God will settle them in due time; but in the meantime, keeping the faith helps us fight the right fight and run the right race.
Read: Romans 12:3, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:6, 1 Peter 1:7, 1 John 5:4, Jude 1:20-21