Maintain Integrity

“‘As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.'” Job 27:2-6 (ESV)

Your life is like a tube of toothpaste, when squeezed, whatever is on the inside will come out. Adversity has a way of squeezing out fears, frustrations, resentment, and bitterness. By nature, we suppress those things that disappoint us or hurt us. We seek to dodge pain.

Job experienced an intense season of testing that revealed what was on the inside of him. Job was honest about his disappointment and transparent about the resident bitterness within his soul. In spite of the avalanche of adversity, Job chose to maintain his integrity. He made a commitment to not speak falsehood, to not utter deceit, and to not put away his integrity. Job resolved to hold fast to his righteousness and not let it go.

Everybody looks good from a distance. What do you see when you get close enough to see what is on the inside? How are you doing internally? Maintain integrity by staying close to the Lord and clean before the Lord. Surrender to the Lordship of Christ and make sure that the tongue in your mouth lines up with the tongue in your shoe. Hold fast to the righteousness of Christ. You are positionally right before God in Christ. Apply that positional righteousness through practical righteous living.

Riding HIS Wave,

Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
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