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Scripture for the day: Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Thought for the day: Here’s the last of five helps in becoming a winner in God’s eyes. We’ve talked about the need to be prayerful. One wise sage once said, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.” And how right he was. Far too often we think we can somehow get along without going to the source of our strength to find replenishment. If our strength and spiritual stamina really do come from God, then how on earth can we imagine that we can get along without spending time with Him? And Leonard Ravenhill, in his classic book, “Why Revival Tarries,” said this: “The pastor who is not praying is playing, and the people who are not praying are straying.” He could not have been more right. Prayer is the key that unlocks the door of heaven and makes all things possible. This is a truth we must appropriate for ourselves and allow to sink so deeply into our hearts that no other answer will suffice.
We cannot spend time with God in prayer and come away with a negative attitude. I’ve often gotten discouraged because things aren’t moving as I think they ought, but whenever I’ve spent time alone with the Lord, He’s reminded me that He’s still on the throne and that, if I’ll just hang in there and trust Him, situations will work out to His honor and glory – and for my own good. I know that’s not often easy for us to accept, but accept it we must if we are to be on the winning side.
Once I’ve spent time in prayer and the Lord has restored my positive attitude, I can face the challenges of the day with a sense of purpose. After all, if the Lord has given me something to do, and He certainly has, and if He’s assured me that the plans He has for me will work out, and He certainly has, then I have a purpose in what I’m doing even if no one else can see it; even if I can’t always see it. Friends, we all have a purpose and it’s revealed to us in God’s Word. Don’t let the devil convince you that you’ve nothing to do, nothing to contribute in the Kingdom of God. We are all called to be witnesses. We are all called to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ by whatever means He puts in our hands. We are all called to serve Him with all our heart and mind and strength. The only unemployed people in the Kingdom of God are those not looking for work.
Paul was consistently prayerful, completely positive, obsessively purposeful, and that allowed him to be lovingly persuasive. If we truly believe what we say we believe, then others will see that by the way we live and the things that occupy our minds and our time. I read of a condemned criminal being led to the scaffold where he was to be hung. By his side walked the prison chaplain, reading about the need to repent of one’s sins in order to avoid the pit of hell. He read in a monotone as he had so many times before, dry-eyed as he told of the horrors that awaited the unrepentant sinner at the end of this life. As they walked those last few steps the prisoner reached out and touched the chaplain’s arm and asked, “What is that you’re reading?”
“The Consolations of Religion,” the chaplain replied.
The man stared wide-eyed as the chaplain continued. Could this man, this chaplain who represented the Great Judge of the Universe, speak of dying and spending eternity without God and not shed so much as a single tear? So the condemned prisoner spoke up. “Sir,” he said, “if I believed what you and the church of God say you believe, even if England were covered with broken glass I would walk over it, if need be, on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living, just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that!”
Paul was persuasive because those to whom he spoke could tell that he believed every word he said. And because he believed every word, because he had a definite purpose and because he spent time with the Lord, he could persevere. And perseverance will often win out where talent and education fail. Why? Because perseverance is born of conviction. When we’ve become absolutely convinced of the truth of a thing, we will move heaven and earth to see it accomplished and no amount of opposition and nay-saying will change our minds. Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may win Christ.”
Friends, trials and testings come to everyone. Satan opposes all who would move on with the Lord. Don’t think yourself special if he’s attacking you right now; you’re no different from any other believer throughout history. The Bible says we are to rejoice whenever we face trials of various kinds because we know they are, in the long run, good for us. Romans 12:12 says we are to be, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” In other words – keep on keepin’ on!
Now go take on your world. - Bill