Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God. -II Chronicles 27:6
I have heard all of my life about the power of a phenomenon called peer pressure. This is the influence of others around us in regards to a certain behavior. Peer pressure involves doing something, even something wrong or harmful, just because everyone else is doing it. The process works like this: Everyone else is engaging in this behavior, I don’t want to be the oddball or be thought of as being square or backward, so I will go along with it – even though I know it’s wrong. Peer pressure is caving into something because everyone else is doing the same thing. That process has caused problems for a lot of people, especially younger people. The last thing you ever wanted to say to your parents when you were caught doing something you shouldn’t have been doing was, “Everyone was doing it.” You received no sympathy, right? And what did they say? “If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?” The truth is, just because everyone else is doing something is no excuse. God has given us minds and we are expected to use them and to think for ourselves.
How can we stand firm, stay strong, and not give into the pressure even when everyone else is doing something we know we shouldn’t? The answer comes in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Lord not only forgives us of our sins, but He also empowers us to go in a right and positive direction in life. The Lord will give us the power, the strength, and the will to resist what we know is wrong and stand firm at all times. The closer we walk with God and the closer we get to Him the more able we become to walk forward in spiritual victory.
The Scripture says that Jotham, who was a king over God's people the Israelites, found strength, might, and spiritual power because he trusted in God and lived an honorable life. Jotham was able to resist the peer pressure of his day which would have lead him away from God and he chose instead to be faithful to the Lord. By living steadfastly before God he grew strong and lead the people to accomplish great victories.
As followers of Christ we are called to also walk steadfastly before the Lord. When we do so the Lord will empower us to resist the temptations which would throw us off track and bring spiritual defeat to our lives. Let us never surrender to the peer pressure of the world; the pressure to believe that we are better off trusting in ourselves rather than the Lord. The power of Christ will move us forward in vibrant faith that will positively affect every aspect of our lives.
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