Don't Give Up
Satan is good at getting people to give up. This is especially true when it comes to people who sin and fall short of what the Lord wants them to do. Satan comes and tells them to just "give up." His lies are effective so many times. He tells them that they can't do it, so they should stop trying. Samuel encountered this with Israel, and he admonished them to keep following the Lord and to decide to serve Him fully.(I Samuel 12:20) We must heed this admonition and encourage those around us to do the same thing.
I have seen it hundreds, if not thousands of times. A person decides to go to church, but they miss a week or two. Then, they feel guilty, so they give up. A person makes the commitment to be a part of a small group, but they fail to make it for a few weeks, so they decide to stop attending. When it comes to witnessing or tithing or having an unhurried time, people make a commitment to the Lord, but they fail to keep it for whatever reason, so they decide to give up. Please, see how this plays into Satan's hands. We are all weak. We all fail. The only way we can be faithful to God is to keep trusting Him to give us His power and grace to do His will. Therefore, our failure is a lack of trusting Him, not a weakness that can't be overcome like Satan tells us.
God is able. He will help you overcome any weakness or sin, so you can be faithful to Him, but He can't do that, if you give up. Do not turn aside from following Him. Renew your commitment, and this time decide you will never give up. Decide to serve the Lord with all of your heart, not matter how badly you may have sinned or failed. One day, you will see the results, and you will be able to laugh in Satan's face, instead of him laughing at you.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 13-15.
I have seen it hundreds, if not thousands of times. A person decides to go to church, but they miss a week or two. Then, they feel guilty, so they give up. A person makes the commitment to be a part of a small group, but they fail to make it for a few weeks, so they decide to stop attending. When it comes to witnessing or tithing or having an unhurried time, people make a commitment to the Lord, but they fail to keep it for whatever reason, so they decide to give up. Please, see how this plays into Satan's hands. We are all weak. We all fail. The only way we can be faithful to God is to keep trusting Him to give us His power and grace to do His will. Therefore, our failure is a lack of trusting Him, not a weakness that can't be overcome like Satan tells us.
God is able. He will help you overcome any weakness or sin, so you can be faithful to Him, but He can't do that, if you give up. Do not turn aside from following Him. Renew your commitment, and this time decide you will never give up. Decide to serve the Lord with all of your heart, not matter how badly you may have sinned or failed. One day, you will see the results, and you will be able to laugh in Satan's face, instead of him laughing at you.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 13-15.