WHAT CAN POSSIBLY KEEP YOU DOWN?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

(Philippians 4:13, NKJV).

All of us have days, and even seasons, where it seems like we just can’t move forward. Usually we know that God has spoken some thing to us, that there are specific things that He has called us to do, or that He has begun to do in us, but we just don’t feel like we are making any progress.

Life can throw seemingly impossible hurdles into our paths. “Friends” can be the first to remind us of the impossibility of what we are believing for. Relatives seem to have an unending supply of failure stories that apply to our situation. But deep in our hearts, we know that God has spoken, and that if God has indeed spoken, then if we don’t quit, His Word will come to pass.

Those are the days when I like to remember Philippians 3:13. We can do all things through Him, because we are not trying to do all things in our own strength, but in His. If God has said it (and by the way, there is no room for presumption and assumption here – we need to know that we are hearing God’s instructions clearly) then He will bring it to pass.

Today I just want to give you a very simple encouragement – do not give up on the dream that God has placed in your heart. Don’t quit in your struggle against carnality and sin. Don’t give up even if you fall over and over. Our failures do not reduce Jesus’ victory, or the power of His Spirit. God and His Word are powerful, and lasting freedom is on its way. Don’t settle for less than the best that the Lord has shown you. Find new encouragement today in the only true source of encouragement – the Lord Himself. Don’t get too focused on the issue, the dream, the failure, or the success. Keep your heart fixed on the Lord and He will renew your strength day by day. Life is not defined by accomplishing a certain set of tasks, it is about living in and for the Lord consistently.

So I will leave you with this final encouragement from the Apostle Paul, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17, NKJV).