Never give up!
Around Christmas time a friend gave me a book by Samuel Rodriguez, “Persevere with Power”. It sat on my shelf until a couple weeks ago. It is such an encouraging read.
Pastor Rodriguez uses examples from the life of Elijah and Elisha on staying the course, regardless of the circumstances and opposition. Most of his examples are lessons I have taught on about the faithfulness and provision of God. Yet, his personal perspective has given those examples fresh insight.
I would like to share some of what I was reading last night:
“You may have grown tired of waiting on God, but He will never give up on you. You may have let go of God, but He has never let go of you. You may even have stopped believing in God, but God has never stopped believing in you! He has equipped you for times such as these. Right now, you are about to receive a new outpouring of His Spirit that will sustain you for the next race to be run.
Yes, others will try and stop you. As we have seen, the devil will try to derail you and deride you and destroy you. But what heaven has launched, hell can never halt. Even if it appears foolhardy to enter the race, to tuck and run, to expect anything other than second place, it is time to trust God and run. I love the way Peter coaches us to keep going no matter how many obstacles we may face:
‘Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.’ I Peter 5:8-11 MSG
When you run the good race to the full extent of the divine power bequeathed to you, then you can leave the results to God…”
Tempted to quit?
I have been many times. I’ve even sidelined myself and felt I was no longer fit to be used even though I knew the Father had a message for me to bring – a message of hope and encouragement.
Persevere! Trust the Holy Spirit to give you the strength you need to run the race God has called you too.
Don’t quit!