Lockdown Day 33: FAINT NOT (part 2)
Video: The story of Gabriela Andersen-Schiess – the most incredible final lap in Olympic Marathon history
How inspirational. Do NOT give up. Three days left of a level 5 lockdown. Now is the time to look at the finish line and not grow faint.
“Faint not” requires stamina and spiritual toughness, two traits that come through exercise and determination. Yesterday we looked at:
- Faint not in times of SILENCE: LISTEN
- Faint not in times of WAITING: ENDURE
- Faint not in times of LACK: TRUST
- Faint not in times of DISAPPOINTMENT: REMEMBER
Today we look at:
Faint not in times of failure: RISE
Proverbs 24:16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.
One of the biggest challenges we all face is the challenge of “image maintenance”. We all work extremely hard to satisfy the image other people have of us – we do this more than working on who we really are. Once the perception of who we are is dented, we experience failure. The response is therefore to find our identity in Christ. We will make mistakes in life. This is a given! Faint not in times of failure — Rise! Not because we are perfect but because of who we are in Christ.
Faint not in times of sadness: HOPE
Psalm 39:7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.”
No matter what life might throw at us, we all have this blessed assurance that, even though we might be depressed, saddened, disappointed, rejected and isolated by man, we will never be abandoned by God. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is already found in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39). Jesus is loyal in times of loneliness not because He said so, but because He proved so. This allows us to have hope in our times of sadness: hope in the promise that Jesus will always be with us, to the “very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19).
Faint not in times of abundance. SHARE
2 Corinthians 8:13 “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.”
Abundance can be as incapacitating as poverty if approached incorrectly. If you are blessed with more than your immediate need in this time of hardship – share! According to Scripture, God’s economic guidelines promote neither wealth nor poverty. The Bible promotes: CONTENTMENT, GENEROSITY and EQUALITY
Faint not in times of victory: STAY HUMBLE
James 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
A big challenge in life is not only to remain faithful in our times of defeat but to remain humble in our times of victory. Nowhere in Scripture do we read that the Lord despises those who fail, scorns those who make mistakes, or abandons those who doubt. But we do read that the Lord opposes the proud. Be careful how you receive, acknowledge, and report your success. Give God the glory, always.