I recently was playing basketball with one of my nephews; he was so excited to shoot hoops with Uncle Cory (me). He ran around the concrete patio with the basketball in hand, trying to score on the mini rim. Great excitement and determination filled his little heart! But after he missed several of his shots and I made mine, he quickly gave up and threw a temper tantrum.
After asking why, he said, “Because I can’t make any of my shots, and you can.”
I encouraged him to keep trying. “With much practice and a can-do attitude, you will get better and better and better. And eventually, you will become a great basketball player one day.” I told him. “The key is never to give up!”
We, as Christians, can be a lot like my nephew when it comes to walking with God and stepping into our God-given purpose. We seek His face and look to Him to reveal our calling. And when He does, we instantly are excited and overwhelmed with joy that God showed us the amazing plan and purpose He has marked out of us. We jump and shout and praise God for His goodness. We may even share the good news with family and friends. Yet, as time goes on and it takes longer than we anticipated and when it’s more challenging than we thought it would be, it’s easy to get discouraged, frustrated and overwhelmed. So, we make poor decisions to quit prematurely. After all, we didn’t sign up for years of waiting, opposition, critics, unfair treatment or major storms.
In these seasons of testing, it’s easy to get our eyes off of God’s faithfulness and onto the difficulty or uncomfortableness of the situation. Like my nephew, who was discouraged when things didn’t turn out the way he had hoped, it’s common for us to do the same thing when life throws us a curveball.
It’s in these moments of pressure and uncertainty that God reveals our true foundation. He wants us to choose to trust Him regardless of the way things look like in the natural. If He says He will do something, then it’s only a matter of time before we see the promise come to pass. Until then, God wants us to wait with faith and expectation. The Bible says,
“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”
Abraham had to wait 25 years between the declaration of the promise of receiving a son and when God fulfilled it. Joseph had to wait 22 years between the dream God gave him and when it was fulfilled. Noah had to wait an extremely long time, all while building a large boat by faith to save him and his whole family from a worldwide flood. David had to wait for about 15 years from the moment he was anointed king until the fulfillment of him becoming king of Judah. It was an additional seven years before he was made king over all of Israel. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert. The Apostle Paul spent three years in Arabia after receiving his calling from the Lord. He then continued to grow in his faith for an additional 14 years before returning to Jerusalem to meet with the other Apostles.
Are you getting the picture? God is patient when developing us for service in His kingdom work. So, what happens during all that time? God uses trials and difficulties to build our character, removing things in our lives that would be detrimental to our calling, and He teaches us to trust Him by faith.
What does God want from us during the process? He wants us to persevere, never to give up, to keep trusting Him with a good attitude! The Bible says in Galatians 6:9 AMPC,
“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”
Why does the Apostle Paul encourage us never to give up? Because we will feel like quitting a million times along our journey. We will be tempted to throw in the towel, to settle for less than God’s best. It’s easier not to move forward, to stay in the land of comfort; it’s less risky. But…we will never experience the incredible plan Christ died to give us if we refuse to continue. We will never go down in history as a man or woman of God that walked by faith if we give up. Don’t do it. Keep going forward; keep becoming who you are destined to be!
I can’t tell you how often I’ve wanted to quit and settle for less. That’s what the devil wants us to do. His goal is to seek, kill and destroy us and keep us from living out our God-given destiny.
I remember once in college I prayed this sincere prayer to know God more deeply and to understand His grace. That very night, something woke me up in the middle of the night, and all these thoughts bombarded my mind, doubting God, His existence, His love for me, the truth of Christianity and the validity of the Bible. I had never had this kind of oppression come against me. I was a young 18-year-old adolescent that didn’t know the tactics of the enemy and his strategy to get me to give up on life. It was terrifying and overwhelming. I cried out to God every single day for 4.5 months. I talked to a pastor and spiritual leaders, read books and even tried to reason it out with my intellect, but to no avail. Suicide thoughts started plaguing my mind: “End your life! If God loved you, He wouldn’t be letting you go through this.”
Something deep on the inside compelled me to keep pushing forward, causing me to seek God even more fervently. I finally reached my breaking point; I was at my wit’s end. In one last desperate cry for help, God answered! He said, “Cory, the battle you are going through in your mind belongs to me. I love you. You are my child.” The God of the Bible responded to my plea for help. He crushed my doubt, tore down the lies and strongholds and lifted me out of the pit I was in.
Looking back, I can see God used that trial to help me go deeper in God than I had ever known was possible. I learned that He was real and relevant for my life, and Jesus was who He said He was! I realized that I could trust God and what He says actually comes true! The trial was scary, but it was necessary for my development as a Believer in Christ. I wouldn’t have signed up for the test, but I wouldn’t trade what I know now, not ever! It was a defining moment in my Christian walk that changed the trajectory of my life for the better!
As I’ve continued to walk with God over the past 22 years, I have faced many similar trials. Each one, I felt like giving up. But as I pressed through them by faith, I saw that God wanted to take me to new levels of my destiny, influence, promotion and revelation of God.
The Bible says in James 1:2-4 AMPC,
“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”
Just like me, God has new levels of your destiny awaiting you. Don’t give up. Keep pressing; keep walking by faith. In due season and at the appointed time, you will reap all that God has promised you if you don’t quit! The trial you are currently facing is real, but it’s not meant to destroy you; it’s designed to promote you. Persevere. Pass the test. Then stand amazed at God’s incredible goodness and faithfulness in your life. Promotion is coming; new divine opportunities are on their way; greater spiritual revelation is on the other side of the test. You got this! Persevere.
