Dear Brides, do you think about giving up? Please don´t. I know that are moments in our lives that we cannot understand why it is so difficult. Most of our discouragement comes from the extra burdens we carry, instead of trusting our Beloved to take them for us. I encourage you to spend time with Him, talk about your feelings and cry into His arms, and when you get up, do not take the burden again, but let Him carry them for you.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith, in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3
He taught me that I am not the only one who sometimes struggles with wanting to give up. I learned through this Chapter 4 “When Do I Give Up?” that all Christians frequently feel the despair during difficult seasons of their lives. What I learned is when we feel like giving up rises, it should lead us to His arms, and not to our old or worldly ways, that leads to more pain and destruction.
I learned that most of the times that we want to give up, are because of the extra burdens that we do not need to carry. I think of times in my life that I could literally cry all day, aching for the salvation of my family members, trying to find a way that they could understand how lost and needy they are without Jesus. The Lord showed me that is not my job to convince them, but to pray trusting on Him to work in their lives, what I need to do is to live my life rooted in His word, loving and obeying Him, walking by faith and by the Holy Spirit, and ready to share my faith with gentleness and kindness when they ask about it, and when the Lord guide me to speak about Him to others.
I think that when the desire to give up appear in my life, first I need to check if there is an extra burden that I don’t need to carry. I want to remember about His promises, that He is working everything for my good, that He works in my weakness, and be able to comfort others who are in despair, to focus on Him the author and perfecter of faith.
Pray with me “Lord I want to ask for forgiveness because I often carry more burdens that I need, and most of the times is because of my lack of patience and trust in You and Your promises. Forgive me for not waiting Your time, and for hearing the lies that turn my eyes away from you and focus on my circumstances and problems.
Beloved, I want to thank You for this Chapter 4 “When Do I Give Up?” and for Your principles. I ask You for more wisdom in how to apply what I learned during a time of crisis, unbelief and despair. Help me to trust more in You and to never forget all victories that You gave me, and that my strength comes from You. Help me to understand that the desert is not a place for sorrow, loneliness, and loss, but it is a place to grow in intimacy with You, to learn, to be molded and transformed to who You created me to be. I long for more of You and Your word. I love You, but I want to love You more.
Dear Brides, if you are a newcomer I want to encourage you to not lose hope and faith WHEN, “not if” the desire to give up appears. Apart from His love and Word there is only pain and destruction. So when the desire to give up comes to our life, let’s say like Peter said in John 6:68 “…Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
The most important relationship of our lives is the one we have with our HH. Let’s put our minds and hearts to seek Him, letting Him work in our lives, so we might live the abundant life that He died to give us!
~ Sara, who currently lives in Turkey
MINISTRY NOTE:
As we said, passing these tests led GOD to do some amazing things! Keep watching for more praise reports scheduled and coming from Sara!!