Topic: Where Do You Get the Power to Keep Going? [RICK WARREN Devotional 24 November 2023]
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Where Do You Get the Power to Keep Going?
BY RICK WARREN — NOVEMBER 24, 2023
FROM STRATEGIES FOR STRESSFUL TIMES
“We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.”
2 Corinthians 4:9 (TLB)
If you’ve ever been at a race, then you’ve heard spectators shout, “Keep going!” to motivate the athletes. That’s also great advice for anyone who feels emotionally, mentally, or spiritually exhausted from running the marathon of life: Keep going!
Scripture includes many examples of people who had determination to keep goingin the face of opposition, including Jesus and Paul.
Jesus faced constant opposition. Religious and political leaders intimidated him. They tried to stop his ministry by telling him that King Herod wanted to kill him.
But Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way” (Luke 13:32-33 NLT).
Nothing was going to stop Jesus from accomplishing his purposes—not fear, opposition, or criticism. He was resilient and had the endurance to keep on keeping on.
Paul also faced obstacles that threatened to slow him down. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, he said, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going” (TLB).
Maybe that sounds familiar, because you feel like troubles are coming at you from many directions. You’re tired and worn out, and you don’t think you’ll make it to the finish line.
How do you keep going?
You get the power to keep going in the same place Jesus and Paul got it: from God.
“We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work” (2 Timothy 1:8-9 MSG).
God doesn’t expect you to fulfill your purpose and do his will in your own power. First, he saves you, and then he gives you the power for daily living. He will give you everything you need to keep going and finish what he has called you to do.
Also Read:Open Heaven 24 November 2023 – Topic: WHEN GOD PURIFIES I
Talk It Over
- What kind of fear, opposition, or criticism tempts you to pull back from doing the things God has called you to do?
- In what way do you feel “pressed on every side by troubles” today?
- Where do people turn, other than to God, to get the power they need to endure hardships? Why is only God’s power strong enough to carry you through?
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