Greetings in the name of the One who is the same yesterday-today-forever, Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! What a beautiful Spring morning to enjoy and to take delight in. I trust that you are experiencing…”Amazing Grace” – unmerited favor that brings God’s enabling presence. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to release an unexplainable joy, peace, and hope into your being that will give rise to a “song” – But as for me, Your strength shall be my song of joy. Each and every morning my lyrices of Your love will fill the air! For You have been my Glory-Fortress, a Stronghold in my day of distress. O my Strength, I sing with joy Your praises. O my Stronghold, I sing with joy Your song! O my Saviour, I sing with joy the lyrics of Your faithful love for me! Psalm 59:16-17 TPT.
I have a confession to make. I am not a constantly “up” saint. I struggle with the realities of life and ask “why” a lot and “when” and “how” and “why not”. I have even been known to seek God out and say…”You have got to be kidding!” Many years ago, as I was preparing to leave for Bible college, I ended up in hospital. It seemed like my plans were to be thwarted until an unknown messenger dropped a book at my bedside. The book – “Not Made For Quitting” by Dick Hillis – had a message that God wanted me to grab hold of. I remember reading that book and deciding that with God’s help I was not going to be a “quitter”! The decision made in that hospital room in July of 1973 has been one of my anchor-points.
I must be honest in telling you that it has not been easy. There have been many occasions when it was all that I could do to not to quit. Over the last weeks I have had to lean heavily on God’s sustaining power. I know that I would not be where I am without a God who is more than able and without a wife-family-church family-circle of friends who prayed/believed…and without remembering that I am not made for “quitting”. Of course, there was a good medical team that played a crucial role but their responsibility was the physical, but I needed the emotional/mental support as well.
God has been reminding me of the role that His Word plays in a believer’s life. He has shown and is showing me nuances hidden within familiar verses for me to discover and learn from. This morning He brought me to a “not made for quitting” statement: I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into His abundance so that I may reach the destiny which Jesus Christ has called me to fulfill and wants me to discover. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14 TPT.
I read a story of a grave in the Swiss Alps. It is the grave of a mountain climber who died while trying to climb one of the Alp’s highest peaks. On the marker is etched the climber’s name and these words: He died climbing. I would like that to be my testimony – He didn’t quit – He kept on climbing.
Blessings on you!