STAND ONE MORE TIME


Have you ever wanted to desperately make improvements to certain areas of your life? Then did you find yourself tempted to think, "Why am I doing this? I'm not making progress. I'm spinning my wheels and I'm wasting my time. I may as well give up." That's what most people do. They say, "I gave it my best shot," and they quit, and their life stays the same.

If you are thinking such things, stop! Refocus your efforts and start proclaiming, "I refuse to give up!" You will eventually see your efforts pay off. Eventually you’ll see the results you’re looking for. Eventually your life will become permanently better. Why? Because you locked in on the right path and the right strategy, and you stayed with it until payday.

Paul said to the Galatians, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). Here's what Paul is saying: If you will do what you ought to do day after day after day, eventually your payday will arrive, and you'll experience a windfall of blessings.

There are forces at work in this world to persuade you to give up. The past, for example, will tell you that you don't deserve success or happiness or forgiveness or God's blessing. But the past is a liar. It doesn't parallel the future. Put the past and all that belongs to it behind you.

Also, frustration and failure will tell you that it's pointless to go on, that you may as well give up now. But failure is a misperception when there's still time the on clock. You may be down for the moment, but you can get back up. The secret of success is simply standing up one more time than you fall down.

Well-meaning people — and some not-so-well-meaning people — try to convince you that you're not cut out to live the life your Heavenly Father has promised you —“I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.” Don't listen to them. Listen, instead, to those who have the wisdom to speak into your life, who have the compassion to speak the truth in love, and who have the spiritual maturity to recognize your potential. Seek these people out, and let them be a source of strength in your life.

The only way to create lasting change in your life is to plant the right harvest, and hang in there until the harvest comes in. Don't be weary in well-doing. God is faithful. Your blessing is on its way.

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