HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
Continuing this message from the previous day and pray that our hearts will be enlightened to accomplish the things God is teaching us.
- Don’t Faint
When you go through the delays in life, don’t faint. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. This is the third thing the Israelites did and it kept them out of the promised land. Numbers 14 “All the Israelites grumbled against Moses… `If only we had died in Egypt! … We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” They gave up on their dream. They caved in. They had been in slavery 400 years but now because they are having a little bit of delay they want to go back to Egypt. “If only” and “go back” are phrases that are tell-tale signs you’re discouraged — that you’re fainting, losing heart.
Numbers 14: 1-4, “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? was it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
If only — means we start to second guess ourselves. When we get a dream from God, make the decision to go for it and if it doesn’t come immediately we start second-guessing ourselves — “Maybe I didn’t really hear from God. Maybe I just made this up. Maybe God is not listening and He doesn’t care. If only I’d done something different. If only I’d done this or that…” We second guess ourselves.
And then we say “Let’s go back to Egypt.” Let us go back to the pleasures of the world, it is our culture, so what. I have seen so many people walked away and left the things of God because a little wind shook them from within. God was working on them and they never understood what He was doing in their lives and they fainted by the way. When we go through delays in our lives life tend to idealize the past. We talk about the good old days — which really weren’t that good. The only thing good about them is they’re over. The grass isn’t greener on this or that side of the fence — it’s greener where you water it. The good old days always look better in hindsight than they really were. We get into a project, start having a delay, and then want to give up. The Israelites had been in slavery in Egypt.
Some people would rather live in slavery than face the fear of freedom. They are not willing to push through and work on the problem until they get it right. They want to go back, give up. They settle for mediocrity in life. Don’t settle for less than God’s best for your life. If that means going through a tunnel of conflict, take the tunnel. In the middle of the tunnel, it’s dark and you want to run back to the light. But you’ve got to keep going and you’ll come out in the light on the other side. Hallelujah
Instead of fainting — be persistent and pray.
Galatians 6:9, “Let us never grow tired of doing what’s right, for if we do not faint, we’ll reap a harvest at the right time.” This is the law of the harvest: In life, you will reap whatever you sow. What you plant you will harvest. If you sow criticism, you will reap a lot of criticism in your life. If you sow love, you will reap love back in your life. If you sow generosity, you will reap back generosity. If you tried to break up and destroy the church brethren you will reap it in another forum. I tell you that your time is nearer than you can ever think. Darkness will be scattered over your house and you will want a shelter along the way. Whatever you sow you are bound to reap. It’s one of the laws of the universe. We’ll always reap more than we sow. If I plant one kernel of corn, do I get on kernel back? No, I get a whole stalk with thousands on it. You always reap more than you sow. But in the Law of the Harvest, there is always a delay between sowing and reaping. There’s always a season. You plant in one season and you reap in another. There is a delay in between. God wants to see if you’re going to keep cultivating, planting, sowing — see if you really mean business. If God sees consistency in your life then the harvest comes. It will not come immediately because it proves nothing if He does it immediately. No delay, no character development, no stretching your faith.
Jesus said that about 2000 years earlier. Luke 18:1, “You need to pray continually and not lose heart.” You have two options in life, pray and not lose heart or faint and lose heart. You will always be doing one or the other. If you pray continually you will not lose heart, you won’t be discouraged. If you don’t pray continually, you will lose heart. You will faint. You will get discouraged by the problems you’re facing in your life — family, school, wherever. You’ve got to keep on praying.
What do I pray during the delay phases of life? Pray “Help me hold on and not give up.” The Bible says, “They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings, as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” They won’t give up. They’ll keep on keeping on.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW …
