Living Courageously: You Can Face Anything, Just Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyer
Book: Living Courageously: You Can Face Anything, Just Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyer
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Authors: Joyce Meyer
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Inspirational, Religion / Christian Life / Spiritual Growth, Religion / Christian Life - Personal Growth, RELIGION / Christian Life / General
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we must look at things realistically. Jesus told those who were planning to build a building to take time first to count the cost to see if they had what was required to finish.
For which of you, wishing to build a farm building, does not first sit down and calculate the cost [to see] whether he has sufficient means to finish it?
Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to complete [the building], all who see it will begin to mock and jeer at him,
Saying, this man began to build and was not able (worth enough) to finish.
Luke 14:28–30
It is important for everyone to have the heart of a finisher, but I believe it is especially important for God’s children. After all, we represent Him, and He always finishes what He starts. Is there anything in your life that you are tempted to give up on? If there is, I am asking you to reconsider. Pray and ask if God wants you to give up, and unless you are sure that He does, I recommend that you press on. The only reason we should ever give up is if we realize somewhere along the way that we are not doing what God wants us to do.
Don’t let the fear of circumstances or the weariness of passing time cause you to give up. You might be tired of waiting, but I want to suggest that pressing forward is much better than going back. The Israelites frequently wanted to return to Egypt because the things they encountered frightened them and were not easy, but eventually some of them did make it to the Promised Land. Some of them finished their race and won the prize. They didn’t all make it, but those who had the heart of a finisher did.
Pressing forward is much better than going back.
The Dissatisfaction of Quitting
Jesus said that He found satisfaction in doing the will of His Father and finishing His work (see John 4:34). I wonder how many people in the world are dissatisfied simply because they gave up on their dreams. We should not be people who are easily defeated. I really believe that if we stay close to God we can pressthrough things that oppose us. He gives us the grace (power of the Holy Spirit) to do whatever we need to do in life. Don’t merely try to push through difficulties in the strength of your own flesh, but learn to be thoroughly dependent on God. He gives grace to those who are humble enough to receive it, but if we want to try it on our own, He will wait for us to exhaust our own efforts.
We can only find true satisfaction in doing the will of God. People often ask me when I am going to retire, and I find it to be an odd question. I never considered retirement because I don’t know how one can retire from a call God has placed on their life. I will change how I do things in order to get the rest I need as my age increases, but I don’t plan to quit. I am determined to finish my course! I want God to be proud of me, and I want to get my full reward when I cross the finish line.
Read what Jesus said about finishing:
I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.
John 17:4
Jesus asked for His prize, so to speak, when He asked to be glorified. He wanted to return to the former glory He had before coming to the earth to pay for our sins (see John 17:5). He clearly said that He qualified for the prize because He finished the work He was sent to do. He said this because He had the heart of a finisher, even though He had not died on the cross yet and been resurrected from the dead. There was no thought at all of quitting. He still had many difficult things to go through, and I am sure that He felt all the fears that we experience, and yet He knew that He would finish.
The example of Jesus challenges and inspires us to becomefinishers too. No matter how difficult our task seems, we can have the heart of a finisher because the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells within us (see Romans 8:11). Let me encourage you to ask yourself,
Have I set my mind to finish?
If the answer is no, why not do it
For which of you, wishing to build a farm building, does not first sit down and calculate the cost [to see] whether he has sufficient means to finish it?
Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to complete [the building], all who see it will begin to mock and jeer at him,
Saying, this man began to build and was not able (worth enough) to finish.
Luke 14:28–30
It is important for everyone to have the heart of a finisher, but I believe it is especially important for God’s children. After all, we represent Him, and He always finishes what He starts. Is there anything in your life that you are tempted to give up on? If there is, I am asking you to reconsider. Pray and ask if God wants you to give up, and unless you are sure that He does, I recommend that you press on. The only reason we should ever give up is if we realize somewhere along the way that we are not doing what God wants us to do.
Don’t let the fear of circumstances or the weariness of passing time cause you to give up. You might be tired of waiting, but I want to suggest that pressing forward is much better than going back. The Israelites frequently wanted to return to Egypt because the things they encountered frightened them and were not easy, but eventually some of them did make it to the Promised Land. Some of them finished their race and won the prize. They didn’t all make it, but those who had the heart of a finisher did.
Pressing forward is much better than going back.
The Dissatisfaction of Quitting
Jesus said that He found satisfaction in doing the will of His Father and finishing His work (see John 4:34). I wonder how many people in the world are dissatisfied simply because they gave up on their dreams. We should not be people who are easily defeated. I really believe that if we stay close to God we can pressthrough things that oppose us. He gives us the grace (power of the Holy Spirit) to do whatever we need to do in life. Don’t merely try to push through difficulties in the strength of your own flesh, but learn to be thoroughly dependent on God. He gives grace to those who are humble enough to receive it, but if we want to try it on our own, He will wait for us to exhaust our own efforts.
We can only find true satisfaction in doing the will of God. People often ask me when I am going to retire, and I find it to be an odd question. I never considered retirement because I don’t know how one can retire from a call God has placed on their life. I will change how I do things in order to get the rest I need as my age increases, but I don’t plan to quit. I am determined to finish my course! I want God to be proud of me, and I want to get my full reward when I cross the finish line.
Read what Jesus said about finishing:
I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.
John 17:4
Jesus asked for His prize, so to speak, when He asked to be glorified. He wanted to return to the former glory He had before coming to the earth to pay for our sins (see John 17:5). He clearly said that He qualified for the prize because He finished the work He was sent to do. He said this because He had the heart of a finisher, even though He had not died on the cross yet and been resurrected from the dead. There was no thought at all of quitting. He still had many difficult things to go through, and I am sure that He felt all the fears that we experience, and yet He knew that He would finish.
The example of Jesus challenges and inspires us to becomefinishers too. No matter how difficult our task seems, we can have the heart of a finisher because the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells within us (see Romans 8:11). Let me encourage you to ask yourself,
Have I set my mind to finish?
If the answer is no, why not do it
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