STUBBORN FAITH

 1 THESSALONIANS 5:17-18 AMP – be unceasing and persistent in prayer in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 

    We all go through “stuff” in our lives. Sometimes it comes in just a small inconvenient rain shower & then there are times when it is an all-out hurricane. Regardless of the type of situation you are in at the moment, be sure that you have the mindset of NOT GIVING UP. 

    We have all heard this before. You are going through a tough time & someone says “don’t give up!” But they honestly have no earthly idea what we are going through & how hard this situation really is. I mean how in the world could they say that if they really knew how bad it was, right? 

    I totally understand that thought process but I can say this, that person that is trying to encourage you, may have possibly been through a lot more intense “stuff” than you have so they might be speaking from experience.

    Most of the time we don’t really know what it means to NOT GIVE UP until we have been through a serious hurricane of a situation in our lives. Then & only then can you really truly grasp the meaning of these highlighted verses.

    I have heard people question the meaning behind these verses and ask, why does God want you to keep praying? Did God not hear me the first time? God definitely heard you, everything has to be in His timing. There is also a verse that says our thoughts are not His thoughts & our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8). A lot of times we pray about a situation & do not see results we think God is either mad or is telling us NO. That is not the case at all. His timing is most definitely different than ours. That is where faith comes in. We have to keeping praying about that situation & have faith that God hears us & will work it out in His timing & according to His will. Keep in mind though that we must retain an open heart & mind & pray for HIS will to be done. If we are praying that we want Him to do it our way, we are tying his hands so he cannot work at all.

HEBREWS 11:1 NIV – now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see 

PSALMS 40:1 NLT - I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry

    We must not give up, back down or stay quiet. We must keep praying, keep pushing forward & remain in faith. We must develop almost a stubborn faith. One that refuses to back up regardless of how hard it gets. Because God will not forsake us & we will make it through.

PSALM 37:25 NIV – I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread

    So yes, it is ok sometimes to be stubborn! Regardless of what the world says or does around us, you will not go under, you will make it 

ISAIAH 40:31 KJV - But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.