Publications... Weekly E-Devotional
Weekly E-Devotional for 3/3/2009
Untitled 1
“The Power of Pressing On”
There are some days when you just want to quit. Fatigue set in a long
time ago. The pressure is mounting. You seem to never be caught up.
Does that describe you, right now perhaps? Persevering may be easy to talk
about, but it is hard to do. Pressing on seems like the right thing to do,
but when will you ever press through? It seems to me that we are inundated
these days with stresses that seek to destroy our joy. Whether it is at
work, in the family, among friends, or just demands we place on ourselves; it
seems like we’re about to be ‘pressed over’ rather than press on. This is
a description of where many people are right now.
I’m so glad to know that God’s word and our faith do not run from reality.
Ours is not a ‘pie in the sky, sweet by and by’ faith. No, the Bible
assumes that in this life we will have trouble, struggles, stressors, and just
plain fatigue. Even our Lord Jesus, in His humanity, was so affected by
everyday life that the scriptures says “He went away to pray.” When the press
of people and their problems got too heavy, Jesus would step away for a time to
regain his strength (and sanity).
We need to take note that the one thing Jesus never did was throw in the
towel. He didn’t quit, but He did rest. The apostle Paul, in the letter to the
Galatians, admonishes us to not “grow weary in well doing.” Translation? Don’t
quit. The only way to ever press through is to press on. Ask God daily to give
you the strength and grace equal to the tasks of that day. Know that you have a
partner in the Holy Spirit, walking each step with you. I was visiting a dear
member of our church family recently in the hospital. I noticed that on the
wall there was a picture of a very large bird attempting to swallow smaller
animal. But the small animal, even while in the mouth of the big bird, still
has his hands around the throat of that bird. The caption under it says, “NEVER
GIVE UP!”
Dear friends, if today you are overwhelmed or under attack; if you feel like
you’re being swallowed up, don’t give up. God is walking with us and just when
we think the load is simply too heavy, we’re likely to feel an extra set of
hands helping us carry it. That’s just how the Lord does things.
I’m praying and pulling for you.
Bobby
|