“A man is not established by wickedness, but the root ofthe righteous cannot be moved” (Proverbs 12:3). 

There are many courses available to every man. Some seem attractive while others have little appeal. Time will usually sort them out, but we do not have the gift of foresight and each must choose his course at the beginning of the journey. This is difficult when we only have our meager experiences as guides for our actions. Then only pain and pleasure are the guides when integrity is not the rule. Many shipwrecked lives are casualties of failed hopes and dreams of those who made decisions based on misleading experience. Their attempts to succeed at all cost were more costly than they had bargained for. But the righteous reject the path of immediate gratification. The delay in waiting on the Lord’s guidance positioned them to hear His voice leading them around the treacherous ditches and pitfalls of the enemy. They withstood the misguided trends and fads of popular opinion. They remained faithful when all else around them failed in order to receive the singular applause of the Father’s affirmation of “Well done!”