When Victory Demands Your All

Life is hard. Can I get an "amen" to that?

Do you ever hit a wall? I find that at some times in my life there are certain things that just plain wear me down. Eventually, I come to a place where I'm crying out in prayer, "Lord, I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired. Please make this battle end."

When relationships go sideways, and it seems that there is no way to repair what has been broken; when I feel that no matter how I try to make things right it will never be right again - I want to give up. When the demands of life (motherhood, ministry, housekeeping) all crowd in around me and clamour for my attention, and I feel as though I could not possibly meet one more demand - I want to quit. When the same struggle, the same sin, the same anger keeps rearing its ugly head and I feel out of control - I want to throw in the towel.

Lord, I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired. Please make this battle end.

You may remember me saying that some people aren't called to rest, or sabbatical, or whatever term you'd like to insert - rather, certain people are called to persevere through the times when they feel overwhelmed.

In case you missed that one, let me just shout it out - certain people are called to persevere through the times when they feel overwhelmed.

Beth Moore says, in her Believing God series, "when we are defeated, we have defeated ourselves, because the enemy has not been given permission to defeat us." She says that we often lose battles mentally long before going into the spiritual battle. Some of the things we do to defeat ourselves are (and this is paraphrased):
1. act like big, whiny babies - getting all caught up in how unfair a circumstance is;
2. beat ourselves up - listening to that track in our head that tells us we're stupid, we screwed up, etc.;
3. blaming others - worrying about whose fault it really is;
and 4. bitterness and unforgiveness - allowing our hearts and spirits to be clogged up with junk.

The question in your mind (and mine) is this - how do I persevere? What does that look like? What do I do?

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you man know and believe me."
~Isaiah 43:14 (emphasis mine)

Victory is wrapped up in knowing and believing God. To know Him simply means to turn your attention toward Him. To believe is to trust.

There's no magic formula, no miracle cure. As in most things, moving past your "stumbling blocks" requires making a choice. Choose to be weak, weary, and defeated. Or choose to KNOW and BELIEVE that Your God is bigger, that He can deliver, and that He will claim the victory.