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Happy Sunday!

Thomas Edison said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up".   Maybe you've never felt like quitting, but I fight the urge to quit almost everyday!  I fight the urge to quit exercising, I fight the urge to quit being friendly and speaking to people on the CTA, I fight the urge to quit working in positions that are managed by leaders that don't have a clue, and I fight the urge to not continue living in righteousness and excellence.  Thankfully, after a good nap, and some encouragement from the Word of God, I'm ready to continue!

Brother Jerry Savelle preached "Conquering the Temptation to Quit" this week during the Southwest Believer's Convention.  This message really blessed me, and I hope it blesses you also.  Micah 7:8 says, "Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me."(English Standard Version).   Don't miss this!  Our enemy the devil, and those that are working for him want us to quit!  They want us to fail.  But with God's help we can rise up and fight again.  Proverbs 24:16 says, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."(KJV).  Even if we fall seven times, we can get up again and have good success.  But wicked people don't have that benefit.

Why do people quit?  Great question...

People quit because they are not convinced that God will keep His Word!  Hebrews 6:18 says, "These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when he says something, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath.  So these two things are a great help to us who have come to God for safety. They encourage us to hold on to the hope that is ours."(Easy-to-Read Version).  When we understand the love God has for us, and  that he is a Good Father, we can trust that no matter how long it takes his promises will become our reality.  When we get to the place that we believe the Word of God as quickly as we believe the word of our doctor, lawyer, accountant, or best friend we will conquer the temptation to quit.  Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the WORD of our God shall stand for ever."(KJV).

People quit because they are unwilling to wait.  It's easy to become weary.  The Apostle Paul knew this and wrote to the Galatians, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."(Galatians 6:9, KJV).  The Word of God is always relevant.  I hope you saw the reference in that scripture to sowing and reaping.  If you've ever planted a garden, you don't go out the next day expecting a harvest.  You understand that time and patience are required.  After weeks, and months you can enjoy the fruit of your labor.  James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."(Message).

People quit because they don't spend enough time in fellowship with God and His Word.  Acts 20:32 says, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the WORD of his grace, which is able to BUILD you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."(KJV).  We are spirits, we have souls, and we live in physical bodies.  Our spirit man gains strength from the Word of God.  Hebrews 11 recounts the stories of the faithful.  Then Hebrews 12:1-3 says, "Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"(Message).

Brother Savelle said, "When you are experiencing the greatest desire to quit, Satan has fired his best shot!"   You can strengthen your resolve to continue by keeping the Word before you, read the Word often, confess it daily, thank God continually before your promise even manifests, and sow seed (finances) toward the fulfillment of it.

Love and prayers, Cynthia