by Dr. Paul Chappell

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ."

Galatians 1:6-7

While the devil's path looks smooth and bump-free, only God's path provides eternal blessings and joy.

A popular character in English and Scottish literature, Sir Walter Scott is remembered as the inventor of the modern historical novel. Hailing from Scotland, Scott faced a serious situation when he contracted polio at a young age. Despite the medical pronouncement that he would struggle the rest of his life with basic tasks such as reading, writing, walking, and talking, Scott determined to recover from the disease and did so after many years spent in private therapy and tutelage.

After a successful recovery, Scott went on to pen many stories, Ivanhoe, Waverly, The Heart of Midlothian, and others. Scott was even given the task of entertaining the English King George IV when he visited Scotland in 1822. Yet despite his great successes, Scott fell into deep debt near the end of his life. Not wishing to incur the blemish of bankruptcy, he placed his income and home in a trust that was owned by his creditors. For the remaining years of his life, even though he was plagued by sickness, Scott spent most all his time writing to earn money to pay off his debts. He wrote of his focus on writing, "I often wish that I could lie down and sleep without waking. But I will fight it out if I can." And fight Scott did, for after his death, his novels saw great success and every one of his debts was paid off.

Perhaps born from his early struggles against polio, Scott was determined to not give up. He set his hand to work writing stories that could pay off his debts. While he didn't see them paid before he died, Scott's hard work and determination reaped benefits after he was gone.

We can learn a great life lesson from Sir Walter Scott-determination and hard work will pay off. Translating that into our Christian lives, God blesses faithfulness and perseverance. Even when things become difficult and, like Scott, we just want to lie down and be done with the struggle, God encourages us to keep going.

One group of people who struggled with being faithful was the believers in Galatia. Paul starts off his letter to the group of churches at Galatia with a simple statement, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." The Galatians had allowed false teachers to enter their churches and confuse their doctrine. These false teachers had lied about Paul, discredited his teachings, and encouraged the Galatians to turn back to their old ways of living under the law.

Once a person accepts Christ as Saviour and seeks to live a new life that honors God, the devil targets their life. He knows he can no longer have their soul, so he seeks to turn them back to their old ways.

Have you ever been tempted to return to the way you used to live? This pull does not simply happen to new Christians; even the most veteran of believers are tempted to give in, give up, turn back, and throw in the towel. However, God encourages His people to follow Him, despite the devil's temptations, the struggles and trials of life, and the sometimes rocky road ahead. For while the devil's path looks smooth and bump-free, only God's path provides eternal blessings and joy.

On which path are you? Have you turned back to the devil's path in some area of your life? Don't believe the devil's lie that his path is easy. Choose the path of most resistance, the path on which God desires to mold you into His sanctified child. Choose to follow God in every area of life today.

To learn more about the ministries of Lancaster Baptist Church and Pastor Chappell, please visit lancasterbaptist.org, paulchappell.com, or follow him on twitter.

Daily Bible Reading
Numbers 29-31 | Mark 9:1-29