We all go through times when pressure and circumstances are pushing against us. It’s easy to let fear, doubt, and intimidation cause us to give up to the point where we quit believing in what God promised. The scripture says. “For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36
God didn’t create us to have a give-up mentality. You don’t belong to that family. Your DNA doesn’t say “give up” or “can’t do it”. “You belong to the Most High. He has put courage, endurance, and favour in you.
You are not weak. You are a warrior. Don’t believe those lies that it’s too much and it’s been too long and that it’s never going to work out. That’s the enemy trying to convince you to give up.
How you respond to pressure in life will make you or break you. How you deal with the giants, the opposition, and those times when everything in you says, ‘Call it quits—it’s not worth it’—those are critical times. If you keep pressing forward, believing despite what has come against you, you are passing the test. On the other side of the challenges is a new level of your destiny.
When you have done everything you can – prayed, believed, and taken steps of faith – but the challenges are still there, making a mockery of your faith, or you still feel doubt and uncertainty, don’t turn and run. Just stand. Be strong and courageous.
The enemy will try to convince you that the obstacles are too big. There are no options. So just give up. However, if you will listen closely, there is still a small voice saying, ‘You were made for more. ‘You have greatness in you. You can set new standards.”
Are there areas in your life today where maybe you have called it quits? Yours is waiting on God for your healing; it doesn’t seem possible now, or you are no longer pursuing a dream. Too many doors have closed. You have accepted that you won’t get married, won’t break the addiction, and won’t get into the university.
You need to check your divine birth certificate. You don’t belong to a give-up family. You don’t come from a DNA of retreat, hiding, and ‘can’t do’. Your DNA is full of courage, full of faith and full of can-do power.
There was a man in the Scripture named Bartimaeus. He had been blind since birth. He was on the side of the road begging and asking people for money, as he did every day. He heard all this commotion and asked what was going on. They said, “This teacher named Jesus is passing by.”
Well, he had heard about Jesus and how He performed all kinds of miracles. So, Bartimaeus started shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Again and again, the people around him said, “Bartimaeus, be quiet. Quit yelling. You are making a big scene.”
But the Scripture says, “Bartimaeus shouted even louder.” He didn’t have a given-up spirit. He had a bold and courageous spirit. About that time, Jesus stopped, turned, and looked right at him. The people thought, “Oh, great. You made Him mad. He is going to deal with you.” Jesus said, “Tell him to come to me.”
They couldn’t believe it. They said, “Bartimaeus, He is not upset. “He is calling for you. Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, I want to see.” Jesus said, “Go your way. Your faith has made you whole.” Instantly, he could see. Mark 10:46
But here is my point. I am sure there were other blind people on the road that day, other sick people and those who needed favour and breakthroughs. But he was the only one who was healed. Maybe the others were complacent. Maybe, at one time, they believed and took steps of faith, but it didn’t work out. Now they have quit making efforts!
The difference was that Bartimaeus didn’t have a given-up spirit. He kept believing despite being blind his whole life. He kept calling out to Jesus despite others trying to talk him out of it.
Jesus said, ‘Your faith has made you whole.’ My question is, are you releasing your faith? Are you stretching, praying, or expecting, or have you become complacent, accepting mediocrity and living with dysfunction?
Shake off that spirit of giving up and start pursuing what God put in your heart. People who live small lives will try to convince you to live small. Family members who have given up will try to talk you into giving up. You have to be like Bartimaeus and break out of that mould; have the boldness to take steps of faith.
Where God wants you to step into is going to take greater faith and greater courage. People may not understand and may try to talk you out of it. There will be giants that look bigger. You will be tempted to retreat. I don’t want that pressure.
You have to be strong. God has raised you up for this time. He has empowered you with His Spirit. It’s not a spirit to quit, a spirit to retreat, or a spirit to run and hide. It’s a spirit of power, a spirit to outlast, a spirit to bring down giants and to break generational limitations and to accomplish more than you thought possible.
COURAGE IN TOUGH TIMES!
Think about the three Hebrew teenagers, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They wouldn’t bow down to the king’s golden idol, and they worshipped only Jehovah. (Daniel 3:17)
When the king got to know of their stands, he was furious. He said, “I’m going to give you one more chance. If you don’t bow, if you don’t back down like everyone else, I’m going to throw you into a fiery furnace.”
Well, they had emotions just like us. They felt fear and intimidation; no doubt panic set in. Hmm, this is life or death. Everything in them said to back down and retreat. It’s not worth it. This battle was taking place in their minds. They could have said, ‘All right, king, we have changed our minds.’ We are going to bow.
It’s always easier to give up; it is easier to get out from under the pressure, quit believing, and not have to stand strong. But to reach your destiny, you have to do the hard thing. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
God is looking for people who won’t be intimidated by threats, won’t back down because of fear, and won’t give up because of disappointment or because the giant is bigger. Be strong in the Lord and do the hard thing.
What I have found is that when you do what’s difficult, there is a grace that empowers you, a favour that enables you. It won’t be as hard as it looks. God will show up and breathe strength and courage into your life. He will make ways where you don’t see a way. He will turn your slingshot into a mighty weapon that brings down giants.
These teenagers said, “We are sorry, King, but we are not going to bow down. We know our God will deliver us. But here is the key.” They went on to say, “But even if He doesn’t, we are still not going to bow.”
That is a powerful attitude. God, we would rather honour You and lose our lives than shrink back and keep our lives. Because if you shrink back, you can’t become who you were created to be.
And this takes trust because sometimes we think, “I won’t give up as long as I know it’s going to work out my way. I will face Goliath as long as I know I am going to defeat him. God will ask you to go into the unknown where there is uncertainty. You don’t know how it’s going to work out.
You are saying, “God, my life is in Your hands. I am going to keep pressing forward despite this giant being so much bigger, knowing that You have the final say, that what You purposed for my life will come to pass. As long as you are pursuing God’s purpose, doing what He has put in your heart, then it is up to Him to protect you, to favour you, and to move you into your destiny.
The king heated the fire seven times hotter than normal. He wanted to make sure they were quickly killed. What he didn’t realise was that he was setting them up for a bigger miracle. Sometimes the enemy overplays his hand. God will let the odds be against you in a greater way on purpose.
They threw these teenagers into the fire. It should have killed them instantly. The king looked in and said, “Didn’t we throw three men in the fire? I see four men, and one looks like the Son of God.” They came out without the smell of smoke.
The king said, “From now on, we are all going to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” Amazing things happen when you don’t give up. You will be protected from the fire. You will defeat giants. You will overcome impossible situations.
Are there areas in your life where you have become complacent and stagnant? This is not the time to give up. This is the time to break new ground. You have to stir your faith. Get your passion back. You may have gone through disappointments, and a door may have closed, but everything good in your life is not behind you; it’s in front of you.
Don’t give up because of what didn’t work out. This is a new day. God is doing new things. You don’t belong to a given-up-on, family. In your DNA is the courage of Esther, a young woman who saved the Jewish people, and the boldness of David, who brought down a giant!
Yes, the faith of Abraham, who believed without seeing; the endurance of Sarah, who gave birth at 90 years old; the favour of Mary, who had a child without knowing a man; the power of Elijah, who called down fire from heaven; and the strength of Samson, who defeated a whole army by himself, are all examples.
That’s who you are: a history-maker, a giant killer. Be strong. Be courageous. And go after what God put in your heart. If you will do this, I decree and declare, like Bartimaeus, your faith is going to make you whole. Healing, favour and breakthroughs are breaking forth within you, in Jesus’ name.
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace.
