Are You Fainting??

~And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  Galatians 6:9~

I want to share a devotion with you about what to do when you THINK you are fainting.  

Has there ever been a time where you wanted to throw in the towel, give it all up, just up and quit on God?  I know at times I have been there.  Times where I have cried in the depths of my heart, "Lord, help me I'm fainting!"  

There is a 4 letter word that I would like to share with you that is a simple 4 letter word to this crisis.  It isn't a deep nor is it unreachable.  This is what I can tell you to do......to P~R~A~Y!!  Just pray!

Let's break the word pray down and put it into an acrostic form with 4 short points.

P= Pause & Wait on the Lord:  When you think you are going to faint because of circumstances beyond your control, just pause and wait on the Lord.  Waiting on the Lord is expecting His strength to help us rise above the difficulty we are enduring.  When we pause and wait on the Lord, He will give us new strength each day so we don't faint.

~Casting all your care upon Him for he careth for you.  1 Peter 5:7~

~But 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, and they shall walk, and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31~

R= Refuse to Give Up:  If we choose to faint or quit then our strength is small.  How we handle the small challenges that is brought our way is preparing for the big ones that will come our way.  Our character is developed more and more with each challenge we face.  Think about it....how you handle the challenges you face tells a lot about you.  You might not realize it, but you are being watched not only by other Christians, but also the ones that do not know Christ as their Savior.  How strong is your faith when the challenges come your way?  How can we ever face the big challenges (that will come one day) if the small ones make us weary?  Don't give up, refuse to quit and commit!  Commit to God even when the going gets tough and when God's answers to our prayers don't bring immediate relief or the answer we are looking for.   When we continue to pray, we will grow in character, faith and hope.  Refuse to give up, give in, or give out!  In other words, faint not!

~If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.  Proverbs 24:10~

~...men ought always to pray, and not to faint.  Luke 18:1~

~I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13~

~...joy cometh in the morning.  Psalms 30:5~

~His mercies are new every day.  Lamentations 3:22-23~

A= Acknowledge Your Weakness:  ...lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, Hebrews 12:3.  When we are facing difficulties, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture or goal that we are working towards.  Our suffering is training ground for the Christian maturity.  As we suffer, keep this in mind :  For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing, 1 Peter 3:17.  We need to acknowledge our weakness and remember the words of Jesus, ...for my strength is made perfect in weakness,  2 Corinthians 12:9.  When we admit our weakness, we then affirm God's strength, ...The flesh is weak, Matthew 26:41

Y= Yield Yourself to God:  If you faint and don't yield yourself to God, you will never see His goodness come from your challenges.  

   ~I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord: be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say on the Lord.  Psalm 27:13-14~

Don't be hungry and thirsty and allow your soul to faint.   ~Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.  Psalm 107:5-6

So, as we:    Pause and wait.

                   Refuse to give up.

                  Acknowledge our weakness and

                 Yield to God,

We will reap God's goodness and faint not!  ~Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out fo their distresses.  Psalm 107:6~

~Behold, we count them happy which endure.  James 5:11~

~Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  1 Peter 5:7

REMEMBER:  Greater is HE that is in YOU than he that is in the world!!