Caribbean Moravian Devotions

ThereÂ’s something about the month of January that makes it seem so different than the other months of the year. Although each day that we live is a day to be thankful for, January 1st is more than just another ordinary day. It is after all the start of a whole new year. ThereÂ’s a sudden burst of energy all around. Folks start off going to the gym more regularly. Others will be in Church this upcoming weekend and may continue steadily for the next few weeks. But in the same way that the start of another year can trigger a burst of energy, it can also cause some to feel tired, weary and just totally exhausted. Why? Because the start of another year is a reminder that their lifeÂ’s dreams and expectations have not yet been realized! So they come to the start of another not with any sense of excitement but with an overwhelming sense of feeling defeated and deflated. With that in mind, the first FF for 2014 is DONÂ’T GIVE UP NOW!

We all get tired. Even the most enthusiastic among us, the most cheery, the most optimistic can feel as though some things are no longer worth the effort. It’s as though we get to the place in the journey where the question is asked why bother? Why be bothered about the child who is determined to still do what he or she wants in spite of your many words of warning? Why make any effort to try and keep fit when it seems as though the weight you’re trying to lose is not disappearing as fast as you would like? Why put yourself out to befriend others when it seems as though no matter how hard you try you seem not to be able to connect with others in any meaningful way? Why go through the trouble of pursuing that dream again or trying to reach that goal which you have been working at for what seems like forever? It is easy to GIVE UP especially when we don’t see the results we expect and we know to ourselves that the effort we put forth is the best we can. Year in, year out, it’s the same old, same old! And with the dawn of 2014, you may have now reached the place where you are just spent. But today hear some words of encouragement – DON’T GIVE UP NOW!

Imagine if Joseph had GIVEN UP on the dream God had given him after being sold into slavery into Egypt, or even after being imprisoned wrongfully or worse yet being forgotten by a fellow prisoner whose dreams he had interpreted. What if the early believers had forsaken following the Lord and preaching the Gospel after the stoning of Stephen, the very first Christian martyr? What if Moses had GIVEN UP after his first visit to Pharaoh ended with a definite no? And what if Jesus had caved in and GIVEN UP when after what he had prophesied about being abandoned and denied by his disciples had finally come to pass? No! One of the central messages of God’s Word, the Bible, is DON’T GIVE UP! And here’s why – God will never GIVE UP on you and me!

Rest assured that whatever God has revealed to us will come to pass. Whatever God speaks will be. It may tarry and we may become impatient along the way. After all, ten years may seem like an eternity for us but not so in the sight of God. Remember God may take 9 years to prepare you for what is to come in the 10th. We just never know! But if weÂ’re tired, letÂ’s confess our tiredness to God. Let God know that weÂ’re weary. But ask God to also give us the strength to keep going because 2014 is not the time to GIVE UP. So whatever God has called you to pursue, keep pursing. Yes, it may be taking a little longer that you anticipated, but DONÂ’T GIVE UP NOW! A Blessed New Year to all and tell yourself in this New Year, come what may I canÂ’t GIVE UP NOW!

Mikie Roberts (Rev)
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http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus