Here's the Word of the Lord for you today:
Persist - especially when you don't feel like it.
Have you ever felt like giving up?
Oh, I am not talking about life itself - but perhaps you have felt like giving up on a job, a marriage or your faith.
Don't give up! Persist!
Hang in there!
Don't go by your feelings - but go by your faith in God!
There are three basic things that will typically discourage you and will tempt you to give up.
Problems will tempt you to give up.
Sickness. Debt. Fear of the future. For Christians, a problem should never get us down, expect on your knees. Problems should always be turned into prayer requests.
Pressures will tempt you to give up.
You say, "this is too much responsibility"! "I am going to throw in the towel"! "I can't do this on my own"! "I can't handle the pressure"! "I want to give up"!
People will tempt you to give up.
People (the source of our greatest joy) can be the source of our greatest discouragements.
They will disappoint you. You will be misunderstood. You will be criticized - ridiculed. The fact is - negative attitudes are contagious. You can assimilate people's negativity and own it as your own.
Faith means you keep on going, refusing to give up - no matter how tired you get, knowing that as your trust in God and rely upon His strength that you are going to make it.
Let me leave you with this:
During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that our beloved Walter Payton, the Bears' running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, "Yeah, and that's with someone knocking him down every 4.6 yards!"
Walter Payton, one of the most successful running backs ever, knew that everyone, even the best, gets knocked down.
The key to success is to get back up and run again - just as hard.
And remember: You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Philippians 4:13)
Just a thought for a Wednesday.
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