A Reminder
“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.”
This is your mid-year reminder to keep going, keep pushing, and keep fighting.
Despite what you have faced so far this year, you are still here. You’ve faced anxiety, depression, loss (and multiples of it), financial issues, work-related stress, shifts in your relationships, and family problems. But you made it to this point. I bet if you took a minute to look back on everything that happened January through June, you’ll see just how capable you are - and just how faithful God is.
Your body may or may not have cooperated with you so far this year. You may have new symptoms, new medications, or maybe your illness has gone into remission. If you’re tired from continually fighting, take a rest and give yourself a chance to catch your breath. This doesn’t mean you're giving up, it means your regaining your composure. And once you’ve gotten your rest, get back up and to continue to fight. This time, don’t fight from your own strength, fight from God’s.
If your plans from January appear to have crumbled, and life doesn’t quite look like what you envisioned it to be on July 2, 2019, that doesn’t mean you have failed. Start over, pick up where you left off, or revise your plans - don’t just give up. You still have work to do - goals to accomplish, lives to change, and new opportunities to fulfill. That’s not just a cliche - people are relying on you to live boldly.
Discouragement comes in many forms, but it only has one purpose - to prevent us from living the peaceful, joyous, purpose-filled lives that God has created for us. One day you will look back on this point and see how it seamlessly factored into God’s plan for your life. Don’t give up.
Keep going. Keep pushing. Keep Fighting.
“And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”