Trusting God Through Trials: A Journey of Faith

But I really like the last stanza in this poem, because the author challenges and questions that if easy work will beat the race, then is the prize really worth any value? And she argues that perhaps the real prize is gaining victory from defeat. The real prize is in becoming stronger when you didn't give up and throw in the towel. I know it might seem easier and better to take the easy route, but how much more will you truly and genuinely enjoy the victory once you have overcome the obstacle instead of giving up? [08:57]

Because sometimes attention is not enough. Tempting to achieve the things that you want to achieve means putting in extra effort in the moments where you want to give up. Allow me to encourage you that giving up should never be the solution, because there are benefits to not giving up. When you don't give up, you eliminate your fears. When you don't give up, new opportunities for creativity open up for you. When you don't give up, you dance. When you don't give up, you dare to try things that other people are afraid to do. [09:38]

When you don't give up, your desires can be ignited and even reignited. When you don't give up, your emotional intelligence is improved. When you don't give up, you will believe that anything you can perceive is possible. When you don't give up, you prepare yourself for whatever is to come. When you don't give up, you develop effective work ethics and habits. When you don't give up, you learn to seek happiness in everything. [10:22]

When you don't give up, you learn something new. Okay, I see y 'all not getting it. Let me put some Bible with it. That when you don't give up, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. That when you don't give up, you will discover that the Lord is your strength and your shield. When you don't give up, the Lord says, in me you may have peace in the world. You will have tribulation. Here it is, but take heart because I have overcome the world. When you don't give up, those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and they will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. [10:43]

When you don't give up, you will discover. When you don't give up, you will discover that the Lord's grace is sufficient. When you don't give up, you will discover that whatever the enemy meant for evil, God knows how to work that thing out for your good. When you don't give up, you will discover that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I know it may be challenging. I know it may get harder as you keep going. Sometimes you may want to lose or you might lose the drive and motivation. You may feel like you want to give up, but instead of thinking about giving up, think about why you decided to get started in the first place. Think about who can benefit from it. Think about how significant and important it is for you. And maybe when you think about this and more, it will give you the encouragement to keep going. [11:43]

So whatever you do, don't give up. I know it's hard, but hang on in there because if you hang in there, I can promise you that there will be victory afterwards. That God will get the glory, but you will get the victory. As a matter of fact, can I speak over your life right quick? You're already victorious. And the key to understanding that you are already victorious is believing. [12:15]

There's that word believe again. Again, it's a word that we ought to be familiar with. That word believe is a powerful word because sometimes if you want something to come to pass, you have to believe those things that are not as though they were. So if you want to claim your victory, believe it's already been given to you. So don't give up. Instead of believing, believe that whatever it is that you are seeking can be yours. [12:42]

Can I throw this in really quick? As a matter of fact, that's some of your stories because you've seen Christ perform some miracles and say some things that just blew your mind. You thought after the doctor's report that it was all over, but Christ stepped in and gave you strength to make it another day, another month, another year. You thought all was lost when you discovered that you had more month than you did money to cover the money that was due for the month. But you witnessed Christ supply all of your needs. Am I talking to anybody in here this morning? Your testimony is that you have witnessed Christ do some things in your life. And when Christ got through working those things out, you had no choice but to declare that if it had not been for the Lord on your side, you don't know where you would be. That's because we serve a Christ who specializes in making things happen. [16:05]

And the text says that once Peter, not when Jesus speaks a word to the fish, they come. No, but Jesus says, Peter, you do it. And when Peter dropped the net, he caught some fish. And church, I want to suggest to you that the reason some of us don't receive the blessings that we are looking for is because we fail to do our part. See, because we have developed, Sister Constance, we have developed this mindset that Jesus has to do it all. [27:38]

And granted, there are some things that only Christ can do, but Christ is so divine and Christ is so powerful. That Christ says, even though I have the power and the ability, I'm going to enable you to aid in your own blessing. And guess what? Christ doesn't mind when he gives you the power and the ability to aid in your own blessing because Christ knows that he's still going to get the glory for it. [28:15]

And Christ knows that he is going to get the glory for it when it's all said and done. And you have to be willing to give him the glory because when you consider how, when you try to do it on your own, you're going to get the glory for it. And you have to be willing to give it on your own. And it didn't work out how you want it to. And then you felt and heard the Lord telling you to go back out there. And when you went back, you received what you were trying to get. You'll have no choice but to say it was nobody but the Lord. But wait. [28:52]

it gets better, because not only did Peter catch fish, the Bible says that he caught so much fish that the net started to break. Wait a minute, because that ain't it. It gets better that he had so much fish that he had to signal for the other boats to come help. Wait a minute, that ain't it either. It gets better, because when the other boats got there, they were still catching so much fish that the boats were starting to sink. Oh, I wish I had about four or five of y 'all in here who know a little bit about the Lord's blessings. Is there anybody in here who knows that when the Lord blesses you, the Lord knows how to give you more than what you bargained for, that some of you are only in need of a little extra money to take care of your business? But when the Lord got through with it, you had enough for your bills and some extra. [29:23]