“Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.”

Luke 22:31–32

Our faith is the center of the target God aims at when He tests us, and there is nothing that pierces faith to the core more than the feeling of being deserted.  And only genuine faith can withstand being stripped of earthly enjoyment.

Paul said, “I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  But still he was behead.  And even though they cut off his head, they could not touch his faith.

This great apostle rejoiced in three things:

he had “fought the good fight,”

he had “finished the race,” and

he had “kept the faith.”

So what was the value of everything else?

The apostle Paul had won the race and gained the ultimate prize – he had won not only the admiration of those on earth today but also the admiration of heaven.

So my question is this…if we admire him so much, why don’t we live as if it pays to lose “all things…that [we] may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8)?  Why are we not as loyal to the truth as Paul was?

It is because our math is different…what Paul counted as a loss…we count as gain.

It is my prayer that we will all put less stock in early treasures and even in life itself in order that we may find the faith of Paul and live it…Amen!