The title of this post comes from words my husband spoke to me. I had just finished a task I really didn't want to do and one that took effort to complete. It was one I could have just left undone...honestly, something I considered. Anyway when it was all over, my husband looked at me and simply said, "I'm glad you didn't quit."
His words struck me because they came shortly after I had posted an entry titled, "Just Quit". My focus then was to quit listening to lies, worrying, striving to please people and a list of other things. There are so many things I need to quit doing, and maybe you do too, but as I listened to my husband I was reminded there are just as many that I don't need to quit. Oh but how often I confuse the two!
So this simple statement and big truth got me thinking...what are the things I shouldn't quit? I can't quit doing the daily tasks that can get mundane like doing laundry, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, making meals and on and on. I can't quit disciplining my children, loving them, reading to them, spending time with them. I can't quit on my marriage and I can't quit on God.
Friends, will you think about this with me? Have you been tempted to quit on God? Have you quit on Him? Even when life is hard, with situations that make no sense and when relationships fall apart we can't quit seeking Him, trusting Him or obeying Him.
I know this is hard - God often leads us out of our comfort zone and His plan rarely matches ours, but we must remember His ways are perfect and His plan is for good. Friend, you don't need my words to encourage you, but I pray God's will -
"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you." Philippians 3:12-15
"We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes,
but we are not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
"So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36
So today when you are tempted to quit or God shows you that you already have, go to Him, remember what His Word says and press on. Keep the faith and fight the good fight! (1 Timothy 6:12) I have to admit I appreciated my husband's words, but as I've thought about this I've been reminded someday God could share similar ones with me! Friend let's live in a way that we will hear Him!!
Today will you join me in trying to quit doing the things we shouldn't do and press on in the areas God calls us to! I believe if we do this we will one day hear Jesus' words from Matthew 25:21 - "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Friend, I don't know what you are facing or if you are tempted to quit, but God does. He doesn't just know, He sees and understands. He is working and longs for you to work through whatever it is He is doing. He will never quit on us...may we follow His example and persevere too.
May we remember all God has done and then do what He asks. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13, we get some valuable insight! No matter what happens or how we feel this is what we must continue to do -
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
Let's pray...
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord as I think about quitting different roles, situations and thoughts enter my mind, but the one I must focus on is Jesus going to the cross. He was fully God and fully human meaning quitting must have crossed His mind...I'm so thankful He didn't give into that temptation. I'm also grateful for the reminder that I have the same Spirit in me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit Lord and give me the grace to do, say and be all you made me to be. Don't let me throw away my confidence, may I remember the God who saved me and sustained me, equipped and encouraged me in the past will do the same today and tomorrow and every day to come. Help me set my mind on You. May I fear, follow, love and serve you with all of my heart and my soul. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen
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