Have you ever thought, I can’t take this anymore or I give up? These phrases have the power to change the direction of our life. Let’s look at three things that could cause these sentiments.
- Satan and his angels. Through their involvement, we can be tempted to stop waiting on God for solutions and instead seek our own way out. Or the enemy may try to redirect our focus away from Jesus and onto our negative emotions. If he can make us feel helpless and hopeless, then he is successfully distracting us from God.
- The world. Ungodly people are always ready to give believers advice. We need God’s wisdom to set ourselves apart from their thinking and yet stay connected enough to share God’s message of hope with them.
- Our own flesh. We have a tendency to do what feels good and benefits us, but God’s way is always best and the most fulfilling.
If you have ever wanted to give up, you’ve probably been influenced by one or more of these factors. But God has good purpose for the trials He allows in our life: They produce perseverance that helps to mature us as Christians. When we look at things from that perspective, we can actually “consider it all joy” to have struggles (James 1:2-4).
And that’s the memo.
By InTouch Ministries
