Don't Ever Give Up!

I want to share a story with you from God’s Word. My prayer is that your faith will strengthen and your courage will rise to face times when everything tells you to quit and become a doubter.

Jesus told a story showing that it was necessary for people to pray consistently and never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!'

"He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice – otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black and blue by her pounding.'"

Then Jesus said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?" (Luke 18:1-8 MSG)

I am not sure what caused her distress, but this widow needed justice and she went looking for it – with no weapon but persistence. Going to the judge’s home, she knocked on the unsympathetic man’s door repeatedly until he finally gave her what she was seeking. Is God telling us he’ll only answer our prayers if we wear him down? No! He’s reminding us that if a heartless judge can be reached, we can certainly count on our Father – who loves us – to help us.

People ask, "Why aren’t my prayers answered sooner? Why keep trying?" Sometimes, we are not persistent or we use the excuse I don’t want to bother God. Only to find out later that God desired to meet our needs, answer our request. Any time there is a delay, you can be sure that two things are going on – your faith is being tested by God and contested by Satan. Satan wants to discourage you, but God is testing your faith because he knows that faith is a muscle. Waiting develops the muscle.

God's timing is perfect. It always is and it always will be! If you find yourself discouraged about a situation or what appears to be an unanswered prayer, don’t give up – look up!

- Pastor Joe