August 18

Never give up! Never! Do not allow yourself to be dissuaded from anything the Lord has set before you to perform in the behalf of His Kingdom or to accomplish for yourself—in the inner man or in the outer man. Be steadfast and fully committed to the will and the way of Christ in every aspect of your being.

Life tends to wear you down. It’s rather like the game of football. The winning team sometimes needs to put in its second or third string to restrain itself from racking up an inordinately imbalanced score against its opponent while the team that is in the process of losing a game by a significant margin can hardly be faulted for slacking off in its effort to eek out a less embarrassing score.

When things are going well, you are on a roll and success seems to follow success with little effort on your part. If, however, you are beset by setbacks, if you encounter disappointment along your path, your tendency is to become slack in your effort. Why try when all is lost no matter what you do? This besetting question has no good answer. But the Bible never asks that question.

Instead, in Hebrews 6:11 you are encouraged to espouse another point of view! It says, “Earnestly desire to show the same diligence to the end, realizing that you will ultimately realize your hope.” When you have set your hope in Christ and you have faith in His unfailing word, you will be energized to be steadfast in life’s challenges, persuaded they will lead to your total victory!