“Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NLT) The Bible tells us that there are seasons in life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (NIV). The fact that life is made up of seasons means that life also includes times of waiting. Between the “then” and the “now”—or the “now” and the “what’s coming next”—there is always a delay. This irritates most people. It can be frustrating to make a deposit, investment, or plan and not have it instantly come to fruition. But fruit ripens slowly. Would you rather eat a vine-ripened tomato or one that has been picked green and then gassed to turn it red? There’s no comparison between a vine-ripened tomato, which was allowed to grow slowly, and a tomato that was picked prematurely. If you pick too soon, you miss the flavor. In money management, you always reap in a different season than you sow. And, by the way, not all fruit ripens at the same time. When you grow peaches, they’re not all ripe at once. They come in little by little; you pick a few a day. When you start planting and following God’s money management principles, you’re not going to get a windfall tomorrow. It’s going to come in over time. You’re going to have to wait to reap in a different season. But while you’re waiting, God is working. When you’re waiting for the fulfillment of the efforts or money or energy that you’ve put into something, you may think nothing’s happening. But, oh, it’s happening! While that seed is hidden in the ground, it is slowly germinating. And when that seed bursts with God’s blessing on it, it will continue growing and growing. One day a little shoot will stick up out of the ground, and then you will see that it’s working. But until then, you need to trust that God is working—even when you can’t see the fruit of your labor. Plants take time to grow. There’s no such thing as instant maturity. No farmer goes out, plants the seed in the ground, comes back an hour later, digs it up, and expects it to have grown. You’ve just got to let it be, and let God grow it in his time. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (NLT).
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“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, ‘In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.'"
Hebrews 10:36-37 (NIV) If you’re discouraged because of God’s delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is not a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn’t come yet doesn’t mean God isn’t going to answer—or that he’s forgotten you or doesn’t care about you. It simply means “not yet”! Part of becoming spiritually mature is learning the difference between “no” and “not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV). God’s delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And most people can be patient twice—or even three times. God tests your patience over and over. Does he do this to see how patient you are? No, he does it so you can see how patient you are. His testing helps you to see God’s power at work in you and to determine your level of commitment to him. God tests you also so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed. You may be going through difficult times right now. You may be discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair. It may seem unbearable, and inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t take it anymore!” But you can. You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He’ll equip you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit. Resist discouragement, and finish the race God has set before you. “By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ."
Galatians 6:2 (NCV) When you go through major disappointments in life, it’s natural to want to pull back and isolate yourself. You want to handle it yourself. You want to keep your losses, failures, mistakes, and crises a secret. You want to withdraw. But this is a terrible idea! When you go through disappointment, that’s when you need your friends the most. God doesn’t intend for you to handle pain and stress by yourself. It’s healthiest to accept help from others. We were wired for each other. We need each other. We’re relational beings. One of the first things God said in the Garden of Eden was, “It isn’t good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18 TLB). We’re made to be in relationships. Job 6:14 says, “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty” (ESV). There will be times in your life when you are in so much pain, you will say, “I don’t even believe in God right now!” You need to have friends who will come alongside you and encourage you in your belief. There will come a time when you’ll say, “I don’t have any faith right now. I’m full of doubt.” The Bible says, “By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NCV). What is the law of Christ? It’s this: Love your neighbor as yourself. The Bible commands us to help each other. Every time you help somebody who’s going through pain, you are fulfilling the law of Christ. Trying to handle trouble by yourself will only make you more tired and stressed. You need to accept the help of others and let your friends carry you through it, knowing that God is with you all the way. He is at work in your circumstances, even when you can’t see what he’s doing. “Surrender yourself to the LORD, and wait patiently for him."
Psalm 37:7 (GW) One reason people struggle with contentment is because we’re always looking for explanations for why things happen in our lives. But God doesn’t tell us why most things happen, and that can frustrate us. Sometimes God doesn’t tell you why because he’s testing you. He wants to see if you will let go of control and learn to be content, whether or not he explains why something happens in your life. God doesn’t owe you an explanation for anything. You’re not going to know why most things happen until you get to heaven. When most of us were kids, the only time our school classroom was quiet was during a test. The teacher would say, “No talking! Take your pencils and fill out your tests.” Even the teacher would be silent. When God is silent in your life—when you don’t hear him, and he feels like he’s a million miles away—that is a test! The teacher is always silent when the students take a test—but the teacher is still present with the students. When God is silent in your life, your faith is being tested—but God is still with you. In that test, will you let go of control, or will you grab on more tightly? Will you learn to be content? The Bible says, “Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7 GW). When you go through pain next week or next month or this year, you don’t really need God’s explanation. You need God’s presence. Let go of control and surrender yourself to him. “The battle is not yours, but God's."
2 Chronicles 20:15 (NLT) Imagine you’re sitting on a plane that’s about to take off. As the plane goes down the runway, you start flapping your arms. As the speed picks up and the nose lifts in the air, you flap your arms faster and faster. Once in the air, the flight attendant approaches you and says, “What are you doing?” And you say, “Oh, I’m helping us get off the ground.” That’s ridiculous, right? But that’s basically what you do when you try to do things only God is equipped to do. Just like you don’t need to hold up a plane, you don’t need to hold up God. Do you want to know why you’re tired all the time? Why you’re frustrated? Why you’re worn out by life? The reason you’re so tired is you’re trying to fight battles that belong to God, and you are not God. “The battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15 NLT). People tend toward independence, and so when you see a problem, you think, “I’ve got to figure this out. It’s up to me!” You assume God’s role, and it wears you out, because you were never meant to carry it in the first place. You’ve been running in circles trying to solve problems in your marriage, your body, the economy, your school, the world. You’re trying to solve them on your own power. You’re trying to fight the battle on your own, and you’re getting tired. When you finally just give up and come back to God and tell him you’ve made a mess of it, you may think you’ve let him down. But you haven’t let God down, because you were never holding him up. You don’t have God in your hands; he’s got you in his hands. If you’ve got God in your hands, it’s not God. It’s an idol. If you’re trusting in something that you think you can control, then that thing is not God. God is not disappointed in you, because he’s not expecting you to do what only he can do. You don’t hold God up. He holds you up. Let go and surrender to God. Because then he says, “Great! Now we can get something done.” “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (GNT) Let’s face it. You and I do foolish things from time to time. We make mistakes. But nothing you ever do is beyond the capacity for God to use. You may make mistakes, but God doesn’t. The Bible says this in Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose” (GNT). When you make a mistake, God says, “I can fit that in too. I can use it all for good.” Let's be clear, though. This isn’t a promise for everyone. The Bible doesn’t say God works everything for good for those living in rebellion against him or for those who aren’t living for God’s purposes. This promise is for people who come to God and say, “I want to live for your purpose. Even though I make mistakes, I want to do the right thing. I want to follow and trust you.” Do that, and God will take it all and use it for his good. That’s a reason for joy. When you put your life in God’s hands, it doesn’t mean you’ll never goof up again. You’ll still make bad decisions. You’ll still mess up. But God can fit it all into his plans. There is no plan B for your life. Before you were born, God knew all the mistakes you’d make. He also knew how he’d fit those mistakes into his plan. That means you can relax. You can stop being anxious. Do the best with what God has given you. You can live in confidence and joy, knowing God will work everything in your life into his plan. “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) Failure is never final. You’re never a failure until you quit, and it’s always too soon to quit! You don’t determine a person’s greatness by their talent, wealth, or education. You determine a person’s greatness by what it takes to discourage them. So what does it take to discourage you from going after your dream? It may be as simple as a friend or family member telling you, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The Bible says in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (NIV). God works in your life according to your faith. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV) and “Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin” (Romans 14:23 GNV) and “According to your faith . . . it will be done to you” (Matthew 9:29 AMP). So what are you doing in faith? You need to ask every day when you get up, “God, what can I do today that will require faith?” Spending your day listening for and obeying God’s answer to that question, and your life will be pleasing to him. There are a lot of things in your life you don’t have control over. You can’t control who your parents are, when you were born, or what your race or nationality is. You can’t control what gifts and talents you were given. But you do have complete control over how much you choose to believe God. God uses people who expect him to act, who never give up, who take risks in faith—who get his dream and go after it. It’s your choice whether you want to be the kind of person God uses to accomplish his purpose. “When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Mark 6:49-50 (NIV) It’s only in the storms of life that you learn what Jesus is really like. You see that he’s not a mere man. He’s not just a nice teacher or an ethical leader. He is God, the Creator of the universe. In Mark 6, Jesus noticed the disciples were in distress. They were in the middle of a lake, where the wind and waves were pounding their boat and keeping them from making any progress. And so Jesus walked out to them on the water. “When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’” (Mark 6:49-50 NIV). The disciples still had some nagging doubts—maybe Jesus was just a nice prophet who could do some miracles. But by walking on water, Jesus revealed he was far more than just a man. He showed them he was God. He also gave them a challenge: “Don’t be afraid.” And he reassured them: “It is I.” In Greek, the language this part of the Bible was originally written in, the phrase “It is I” is actually two words: ego ima. Ego ima simply means “I Am.” Why is that important? The name of God is “I Am”—not “I was” or “I will be” or “I hope to be.” When Jesus says, “I Am,” he is saying that you don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to sweat it. He is God. And that is enough. If you’re going through a storm, you don’t need a job—you need Jesus. You don’t need a plan—you need a person. You don’t need a system—you need a Savior. You don’t need a new goal—you need God. When you’re going through a storm, remember that God is not distant, apathetic, or uninvolved. He is “I Am.” And he will get you through the storm. “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (GNT) Let’s face it. You and I do foolish things from time to time. We make mistakes. But nothing you ever do is beyond the capacity of God to use. You may make mistakes, but God doesn’t. The Bible says in Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose” (GNT). When you make a foolish mistake, God says, “I can fit that in too. I can use it all for good.” Let's be clear, though. This isn’t a promise for everyone. The verse doesn’t say God works everything out for good for those living in rebellion against him or for those who aren’t living for his purposes. The promise is for people who come to God and say, “I want to live for your purposes. I don’t always get it right. But I want to do the right thing. I want to follow you, and I want to trust you.” Do that, and God will take it all and use it for his good. That’s a reason for joy. When you put your life in his hands, it doesn’t mean you’ll never goof up again. You’ll still make bad decisions. You’ll still mess up. But God can fit it all into his plans. There is no plan B for your life. God knew all the mistakes you’d make before you were born. He also knew he’d fit those mistakes into his plan. That means you can relax. You can stop being anxious. You can move into the new year trusting God’s grace is active your life. Do your best with what God has given you. God will work everything into his plan. “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God.”
Isaiah 43:2-3 (TLB) When you became a Christian, did you expect life to suddenly be perfect? If you did, I bet you found out pretty quickly that there are all kinds of trials for Christians—including relational, financial, physical, and mental. Some people expect life to be heaven on earth. But this is not heaven! We pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven—because then it would be done perfectly. But on earth, God’s will is seldom done. Everything on this planet is broken. The weather, the economy, our bodies, and our relationships don’t always work right. We can be sure that, because of sin, bad things will happen. We can also be assured of God’s promises to support us in all the trouble we will face on this earth. “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God” (Isaiah 43:2-3 TLB). When you go through deep waters and rivers of difficulty, God doesn’t promise that you won’t get wet. You’re going to go through some problems that have pain. You’re going to get wet. But God does promise that you’re not going to drown. When you go through the fire, it’s going to get hot. But God promises that you’re not going to burn up. You’re going to make it through. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace]” (AMP). That doesn’t mean that you can do anything because of who you are. It means you can have confidence in whatever trouble life brings because you face it with the power of Christ in you. You may not feel very strong right now. But the strength you need will come when you need it. The Bible doesn’t say to ask God for your weekly or monthly bread. It says to pray, “God, give me my daily bread. I need just enough strength for today.” God will support you in your trouble. He always gives you the strength you need for today. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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