When things get tough, we are tempted to quit. But as it’s the darkest moment right before the dawn, the best things come for those who stay the course anyhow. Okay, you say. You want to do so but how on earth are you able to do so? That is the question, isn’t it? Let’s find out.

The best thing to do is to stay in God’s presence. If you run, you lose. But if you stay, you win. So wait on God, stay in his presence, and he will help you to stay the course.

Staying in God’s presence is the most important thing to do. All the blessings flow from there. But if we run, we don’t get rid of the problems. Instead, we get rid of blessings and God’s help.

In that sense, the choice should be very easy, right? Yet it isn’t. The choice is hard because we can’t see or understand the solution. But we need to trust God and stay. My personal experience has been God always comes through. Not as fast as I hoped or the way I wanted but at the right time and in the right way.

Another thing to remember is not to try to do it on our own power. Because our power supplies are very limited. We need God’s power. Thankfully, he is liberally sharing it with all who wants it. And, blessedly, his supplies will never run out. So let’s not be too proud to accept his help.

How to stay the course

The Bible verses I’ve chosen today might surprise you, nevertheless, I want to share with you how King Hezekiah dealt with the distressing news.

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.  And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. (Isaiah 37:14-15, NRSV, emphasis added, *)

Hezekiah did not run from his troubles. Instead, he went to God, spread the letter before the Lord, and prayed. That’s how we should do too: Go to God, show him what is bothering us (bills overdue, scaring diagnosis or our emptiness), and pray hard. God will answer. And he will bless you as he did bless Hezekiah and he will empower you to stay the course.

God’s goal for you is not just to survive but thrive in the Holy Spirit. Invite God’s Spirit to permeate every inch of you and you will dance, you will sing in front of the scary things in your life. You will stay the course until the very end. And you will be blessed.

Gracious God,
Thanks for preparing everything for us,
you’re just waiting for us to show up.
So here we are,
surrendering to you,
asking for your help with our troubles.
You see what is bothering us,
help us, Lord.
We don’t know how to deal with these things,
show us the way, create the way forward, be the way, Lord.
Thank you for helping us,
we would be lost without you.
Fill us with your Spirit to overflowing.
Empower us to live to the fullest for your glory.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you know how to stay the course when things get tough?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you bring all your troubles to the Lord and ask for his help!

Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash. Linking up today with Five-minute Friday.