February 18, 2023
Maintain A Courageous Persistence<
Nehemiah - “Later I went to visit Shemaiah son of Delaiah and grandson Mehetabel, who was confined to his home. He said, ‘Let us meet together inside the Temple of God and bolt the doors shut. Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight.’ But I replied, ‘Should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my position enter the Temple to save his life? No, I won’t do it!’” (Nehemiah 6:10-11)
DAILY DEVOTION
Paul - “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)
One of the great keys to success is the ability to “hang in there.” As Christians, we all need to understand that God has great plans and purposes for our lives so we should pursue them with vigor and we should refuse to give up! That’s difficult at times because we all get tired in the battle, we get weary of doing good and want to quit. But God says "Don't give up! Keep going.”
Author Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing biographies of great men and women. Stone was once asked if he had found a thread that runs through the lives of all of the exceptional people he had studied. He replied, “I write about people who sometime in their lives had a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished and they went to work. They were beaten over their heads, knocked down, vilified, and for years, many of them got nowhere. But every time they’re knocked down they stand back up. You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they’ve accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do.” Determined people don’t quit.
Often, people quit because of fear. However, courage is not the absence of fear, but moving ahead in spite of our fears. Is it possible to be fearful and courageous at the same time? Absolutely. If we’re not afraid then we’re not courageous. Like we just read, courage is moving ahead in spite of our fears. That's what makes a courageous person.
When Nehemiah’s enemies tried to frighten him away, he cried, “Should someone in my position run from danger?” (Nehemiah 6:11). He said, “I’m not going to run away. I’m scared. I’m frightened. The project is getting near to the finish line. All we have to do is hang the doors. I know my enemies will want to kill me before we finish, but I’m going to move ahead in spite of my fear. I’m not running.”
How can we know when we’re afraid? Simple - we have the insatiable desire to run. We have the desire to run out of our job, out of our marriage, out of our relationships, even out of our homes because we’re afraid we can't handle it. When we start feeling this way, we want to run! However, it is never God's will for us to run from a situation because it’s difficult. He often has something He wants us to learn from the difficult situation. If we do run, God will often bring another situation up later on so he can teach us the lesson he wanted us to learn in the earlier situation. Why shouldn’t we go ahead and face them the first time?
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY
Joyce Meyer is credited with saying, “Do It Afraid.” What are a few things that are so important to you that you are willing to “do them afraid?” Write them out on a piece of paper and write out a prayer to the Lord, asking Him to give you courage to “do it afraid” even when you’re tempted to quit. If you’re leading your family through this devotion, guide each of them to complete the above activity
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, when am I knocked down, help me to get back up. When I am tempted to give up, help me to have the determination to not quit. Help me to continue moving forward even when I am afraid. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.