We have a lot going on in our world and its incumbent for each and every one of us not to lose heart; we must be strong! To ‘lose heart’ simply means to believe you will not succeed or you become so discouraged you lose the desire to succeed.
Paul reminds us not to lose heart in 2 Corinthians 4:16 (MSG). He said; “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
The opposite of losing heart is perseverance or endurance and the three scriptures written to encouraged all believers are found in 2 Thessalonians 1:4, Romans 5:3 and James 1:3.
When we persevere through difficulties or weariness, we refuse to give up on what God has called us to do. Galatians 6:9 encourages us to never give up: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” and in Joshua 1:9 we are commanded, “To be strong and of good courage….”
As you know a Joshua heeded God’s command and he successfully completed the task of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land and of taking possession of it!
Furthermore, Nehemiah never gave up the construction of Jerusalem’s walls, despite the fierce opposition he faced. Caleb never gave up on the promise of God, and he conquered a giant-infested, fortified hill country when he was 85 years old. Jesus persevered all the way to the cross. “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).
When we give up too early and lose heart too soon, we miss out on all God planned to do through and for us.
Our faith in Jesus must be bigger than fears. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith is the substance of hope and the evidence of what has not been seen. Hope is the engineered rebar strategically placed in the foundation of Godly faith and it’s also the walls that shape the structure of our Godly lives!
We must continue to remind ourselves and believe that God is not dead! He knows what’s going on and He is working all things out for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28)! Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Our world may be falling but thank God, we serve a risen Savior!
4GIVEN 