By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson
REVELATION 14:12 ~ "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
We all desire for rest and replenishment. That is a God-given desire that He promises to fulfill for all who trust in Him: "For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish" (Jeremiah 31:25).
Undoubtedly, Christ gives genuine rest to "all who labor and are heavy laden" and come to Him (Matthew 11:28).
However, in this age, it is not the absolute rest. In this age, the Lord gives us the Gospel rest of ceasing the impossible labor of self-justification for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). But in embracing the Gospel we find ourselves also engaged into a battle—a battle to keep believing the Gospel and a battle to spread it to others. In this age, we "strive to enter that absolute rest" of the age to come (Hebrews 4:11).
Battles are long and exhausting. They make us often tired. They make us feel the urge to surrender or run away from them. They tempt us to give up.
Never give up. Be strong in the Lord!
"But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!" (2 Chronicles 15:7).
Never give up when you feel that deep soul weariness from long battles with persistent weaknesses:
""My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."" (2 Corinthians 12:8–9).
Never give up when you have failed in sin. Don't wallow. Don't be proud and hardened your heart before the Lord. Repent and humble yourself in the sight of the Lord:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9);
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. " (2 Timothy 2:13)
"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." (James 4:10)
Take your eyes off of yourself and get back on Christ. Get up and fight back against Satan's deceptive schemes:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
Never give up when your prayers have not yet been answered:
"Then He spoke a parable to them (the Parable of the Persistent Widow), that men always ought to pray and not lose heart," (Luke 18:1).
Remember Hannah, she became the mother of faith (1 Samuel 1 and 2)
Never give up when the tormenting effect of multiple pressures seems relentless:
"But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;" (2 Corinthians 6:4–5).
Never give up when the task the Lord has called you to do is difficult and the result does not look promising:
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9)
Never give up when you labor faintly and you wonder if it even matters to God:
"and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly." (Matthew 6:4)
Never give up when Satan's fiery darts hit you and make you reel:
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Ephesians 6:13-16)
Never give up when your reputation is hurt because you are trying to be faithful to Christ:
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." (Matthew 5:11)
Never give up when waiting on the Lord seems like forever:
"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:30–31)
Never give up when that familiar sin still knocking at your door after all these years, inviting itself in again with temptation:
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
The Lord knows our works (Revelation 2:2-4) and He understands all our struggles (Hebrews 12:3-5). But, "Fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). Finish the race (2 Timothy 4:7). "By your endurance you will gain your lives" (Luke 21:19).
Friend, whatever life may bring just ... NEVER GIVE UP on the LORD!
"Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper."
(Psalm 1:1-3)
