| Pray: God, Help Me Hold On and Not Give Up! |
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| By Rick Warren — May 4, 2015 |
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NIV)
When you go through the delays in life, don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up!
The Israelites did, and it kept them out of the Promised Land. Numbers 14:2-4 says, “All the Israelites grumbled against Moses … ‘If only we had died in Egypt! …. We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt” (NIV). They gave up on their dream. They had been rescued after 400 years of slavery but then wanted to go back because they were being delayed.
Like the Israelites, some people would rather live in slavery than face the fear of freedom. They are not willing to push through and work on the problem until they get it right. They want to give up. They settle for mediocrity in life.
Don’t settle for less than God’s best for your life. If that means going through a tunnel of conflict, take the tunnel. In the middle of the tunnel, it will be dark, and you will want to run back to the light. But you’ve got to keep going until you come out on the other side into the light.
Instead of getting discouraged, be persistent and pray.
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
This is the law of the harvest: There is always a delay between sowing and reaping. You plant in one season, and you reap in another. God wants to see if you’re going to keep cultivating, planting, and sowing. If he sees consistency in your life, then the harvest will come. It will not come immediately, because it proves nothing if he does it immediately — no character development or stretching your faith.
Jesus said in Luke 18:1, “[You] must always pray and never lose heart” (Phillips).
Those are the two options you have in life: Pray continually, or lose heart. You will always be doing one or the other. If you pray continually, you will not be discouraged. If you don’t pray continually, you will lose heart. You will get discouraged by the problems you’re facing in your life — whether it’s at work or school or in your family. You’ve got to keep on praying!
What do you pray during the delay phases of life? Pray, “Help me hold on and not give up.” God will hear you, and he will help. You are not alone, so you don’t have to get discouraged, even when you are delayed.
Talk It Over
- What lesson have you learned in your delay? How can you apply that lesson to the pursuit of your dream?
- What does it mean to pray continually or “always pray”? How is that possible?
- How has God shown you in the past that he is faithful? Remind yourself of those experiences when you start to doubt his faithfulness in your delay.
Open Windows
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:
"Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Malachi 3:10, AMP
TODAY'S WORD:
God wants to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings on you today! But, you have to do your part first. Your part is to be a faithful tither and be obedient to the Lord with your finances. We are all stewards over the resources God has given us. When we are faithful stewards, the Lord entrusts us with more. He opens the windows of heaven! Have you ever thought about what kind of blessing would be so great that there would not be room enough to receive it? It may be hard to comprehend, but that’s what God’s Word promises.
Choose to be a giver today. Be a tither. Prove the Lord and get ready to watch Him move mightily on your behalf!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father, thank You for choosing to bless me. Thank You for opening the windows of heaven in my life. I choose to be obedient to Your Word. I choose to be a giver. I choose to be a faithful steward of Your resources in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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