The Grace to Keep Going

Romans 16:17-20

I can't take it." "I give up." "I quit." These are powerful words which,
when we act on them, deeply impact others' lives as well as our own. Let's
look
at three key reasons which cause us to express these sentiments.

Satan and his fallen angels' influence is one reason that we walk away from
the Lord's plan. Through their involvement in our goings-on, we can be
tempted
to stop waiting on God for solutions and instead seek a way out now. Running
ahead of God is the same as declaring that His promises do not hold true.
This is something the Devil wants. Discouragement is another of his
tactics - he tries to redirect our focus away from hope in Jesus Christ and
onto our
negative emotions. His aim is to make us feel helpless and hopeless. His
strategy also includes getting believers to copy the methods of the
unbelieving
world and ignore any future consequences of quitting.

A second reason we stop following God's plan is the influence of our
culture. Ungodly people are always ready to give believers advice. We need
divine wisdom
to set ourselves apart from their thinking and yet stay close enough to be
able to share God's viewpoint and message of hope with them.

Our own "natural self" - also known as "the flesh" - is the third reason we
might want to bypass God's way. Sacrifice isn't comfortable; our natural
tendency
is to do what feels good and benefits us or those we love.

God declares that His grace is sufficient to keep us going through every
situation. That means we need never give up. How does this apply to your
life today?


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