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| If you've been feeling like giving up, will you take a deep breath today and adjust your focus? |
Alternative to Giving Up
The
2 Corinthians 12:9 Alternative to Giving Up
If you've been feeling like giving up, will you take a deep
breath today and adjust your focus? Intentionally look at what God has done in your life rather
than what you feel He has not done yet. Commit to trust Him instead of doubt
His ways. Surrender your burdens and stop trying to fix everything on your own
or wishing you could. Instead, refocus on trusting the only One who actually
can. It is also possible to be filled with peace and joy that surpasses
understanding and to find the strength to keep pushing forward, through the
power of Jesus within us. Look up to God. Seek His face. Ask for
joy and hope. And get ready to receive them.
Author
Tracie L. Miles
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for
you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9 English
Standard Version
I know
how it feels to want to give up.
Especially
on those days when we want to throw our arms up in the air and yell "I
can't take this anymore!
Days
when we want to crawl under the covers and hide from the world.
Days
when we secretly wish we could run away from our life and begin living someone
else's, someone whose life seems easier to love than our own.
Days
when trying to keep a smile in our heart and on our face seems like an
impossible task.
Days
when we just can't find a single reason to feel joyful, even if there are
plenty, much less muster up the strength to even try.
Days
when we're just tired from the fight.
Maybe
this is where you find yourself today, and if so, don't take another step until
you look up to God instead of around to your
problems.
These
are the days when you are going to need to God-up with all the strength you
have in Him.
Ever
heard the term "man-up"?
It
basically just means to be brave and courageous, or to tough it out when an
unpleasant situation pops up. It means don't quit or give up, but instead keep
pushing through.;' -
The
term "God-up" means to do exactly the same thing except do it in the
power of Jesus Christ alone.
Trying
to just man-up (or woman-up) and do life in our own power will always lead to
discouragement, exhaustion, burnout and sometimes hopelessness.
But
when we are at our weakest, God is at His strongest, as we're told in 2
Corinthians 12:9a which says. "My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
If
you've been feeling like giving up, will you take a deep breath today and
adjust your focus?
Intentionally
look at what God has done in your life rather than what you
feel He has not done yet.
Commit
to trust Him instead of doubt His ways.
Surrender
your burdens and stop trying to fix everything on your own or wishing you
could. Instead, refocus on trusting the only One who actually can.
It's
okay to feel mad at God for a time, rant about our feelings and frustrations.
It's
okay to feel unfairly treated by life and desperate to see God do something.
It's
okay to doubt if God cares about what we're going through. It's okay to feel
sad, to mourn or to grieve.
In
fact, it's okay to not be in love with our life every moment. It's even okay to
feel like giving up.
All
these are natural, human emotions. But it's not okay to stay stuck in that
mindset.
It is
also possible to be filled with peace and joy that surpasses understanding and
to find the strength to keep pushing forward, through the power of Jesus within
us.
Giving up
doesn't get us anywhere, in fact, it keeps us stuck in the place and the
mindset that is causing us to want to give up.
What
will bring change into our lives is intentionally determining to God-up instead
of give up.
Look up to God. Seek His face. Ask for joy and hope. And get ready to receive them.
To learn more about how you can begin
experiencing this transformation in your life too, purchase a copy of Unsinkable
Faith: God-filled Strategies for Transforming the Way You Think, Feel and Live by Tracie
Miles.
https://www.charismamag.com/life/women/34144-the-2-corinthians-12-9-alternative-to-giving-up
