17 Jan Don’t Give Up by Dr Mike Okonkwo
Dearly beloved, in your daily walk with God, you must always be conscious of the fact that His intention for you is to succeed in-spite of all odds. Whenever you come to the crossroad of life, get ready because God is ready to show you another dimension of Himself that you have never seen. Crossroads of life are part of your pathway to greatness. There will always be crossroads in life. You cannot fast or pray it out of existence. You cannot make confessions of faith and then it would not happen. Everyone comes to the point where there is a crossroad. It is what you do at crossroads that matters.
A crossroad is a place where you make critical decisions. That critical decision may mean you may have to do something that does not make sense at all just for the sake of the Kingdom. That decision may mean going back to knock on certain doors that had hitherto closed up on you. It may mean you have to repeat a certain task, sit again for an examination, write a fresh business proposal, re-invent your business or find new ways of achieving your set goals. It is all about being resilient. It is all about commitment. It is all about refusing to throw in the towel.
In 1 Kings 18, the ancient Prophet Elijah came to a cross road in his life and ministry. Israel was in a period of apostasy – men had turned their backs on God and the entire nation was spiralling down in evil and anarchy. Consequently, there was a great famine in the land and no more corporate worship of the true and living God. This was a dilemma for Elijah and he knew he had to settle once and for all who was God in Israel. He called for a contest and when the Prophets of Baal were done, he repaired the broken down altar of God and asked that water be poured upon the sacrifice – in other words make it difficult for God to answer by fire.
Let us look at that event again as recorded in the scriptures: 1 Kings 18:33-35{KJV} ‘’…And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces and laid him on the wood and said, fill four barrels with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, do it a second time. And they did it a second time. And he said do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.’’
Beloved, how do you pour water on sacrifice and expect fire to consume it? That decision could only have come from a man who knew God could never fail. They kept pouring in scarce water until the whole altar was filled with water and the trench he had dug was overflowing. Naturally, you would think that water retards fire, but God wanting to show His power answered by fire and the fire licked up the sacrifice, the water and even the stones. The result was a great revival in the land as can be found in verse 39 which says ‘’…And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.’’ That marked the end of Baal worship and the true worship of God was again restored in Israel.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Elijah had given up? His ministry would have become irrelevant. In the same vein, I come to encourage you never to give up. Oftentimes, people fail just because they gave up too quickly. Just a little more effort, a little more patience and they would have succeeded. There is so much you can achieve this year if you would just hold on tenaciously to God’s promise. Yes, I know you may encounter challenges, but I come your way today to challenge you never to give up. You can start today from where you stopped the last time, because I know that as you do, God will honour your faith.
In Christianity there is nothing like retreat, you don’t go back. In Luke 18, there was a widow who entreated a wicked judge to avenge her of her adversary. Even though the judge did not fear God nor regarded any man, yet he avenged her for her continual coming. She refused to take No for an answer. Beloved, don’t run away from battle. You have to continually go forward in-spite of the challenges and you will see the salvation of your God. Whenever you go forward, you see God in another dimension. You see Him do the unusual. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, ‘’…for we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.’’ {Heb 3:14} There is so much you would achieve if you keep at it without faltering. Never give up.
Child of God, I challenge you to keep moving. When you are faced with a mountain and you are determined to go on irrespective of obstacles, supernaturally the mountain will either give way or you would climb over the mountain, or you would go under it, or you bore a hole through it. One thing is sure; you will get to the other side. Beloved, rejoice because I see you getting to the other side. God will honour your faith. You will not be denied. I will hear your testimony. Maranatha! In His Royal Service
Dr. Mike Okonkwo, The Presiding Bishop
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