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Discouragement
I was going over my notes that I took over at the Victory Outreach World Conference and it seemed like speaker after speaker spoke about times of “Discouragement” in their lives. These are great men of God that I look up to and admire, but they all had down times in their walks with Christ. It encouraged me because I’ve had my ups and downs all throughout my life. (Many of you have even read about many of my ups and downs here in this column from week to week.) One thing that stood out to me was that these men had every excuse to quit and throw in the towel. They could have given up and everyone would have understood, but they knew the calling that God placed in their lives and they held on and carried on and are still going strong today.
Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
It seems like I’ve been writing a lot about not giving up lately. I’ve come to find that we’re always going to have to face some hard times in our lives. There are going to be times when we are down and discouraged. It’s during those times that we really need to run to God. He is there to strengthen us in those times of weakness. He is there to hold us up when we are standing on our last ounce of hope. Sometimes we just need to hold on for a little while longer and we will see God come through. Too many times we miss out on God’s blessing because we give up on it too soon.
At the Conference, Pastor Jim Cymbala spoke out of the scripture in Psalm 119:49 that says, “Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.”
That message really spoke to my heart. He was talking about holding onto the promises that God has given you. Even when there seems to be no way, God always comes through. In this scripture the psalmist is talking to God and reminding God of the promises He had given him. He is saying, “God you already said this was going to happen in my life. You already gave me hope of this coming to pass. Now remember what you told me God.”
I believe God speaks to each and every one of us in our own individual way. I believe He has a call on my life and He has a call on your life too. I believe He’s given us promises that He is more than able to see come to completion. Sometimes we need to remind God of those promises He gave us. Not that God forgets, but it is more for our own benefit, that way it renews that hope in our hearts that God will do what He said He will do. It may not come to pass when we expect it or how we expect it to, but God always comes through on His Word.
Maybe God promised you that your family would be saved. Hold on to that. Keep on praying. Don’t let go of that hope. My family prayed for my dad for over 15 years and God finally touched his heart and now he’s serving God again. There were times when we got discouraged and wanted to give up praying for him, but we held onto that promise God gave us that he would be a Christian once again.
Maybe God promised you that you were going to be a preacher or a teacher or an evangelist. Hold onto that promise because God is still preparing you to do what He’s called you to do. Whatever it is God put in your heart, just know that He is faithful and true to complete the work that He started in you. (Philippians 1:6)
So when times get hard and you feel like giving up, remember those things that God has promised you. When you’re discouraged and down, remember that God always comes through on His Word. You can stand on the hope that He will do what He said He would do.
w/muchluv,
geno
GOT YOUR PHF T-SHIRT YET???????????????????????
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