January 2

I Will Not Quit

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

PHILIPPIANS 4:13

So often, someone will come to me for advice and prayer, and when I tell them what the Word of God says, or what I think the Holy Spirit is saying, their response is, “I know that’s right; God has been showing me the same thing. But, Joyce, it’s just too hard.” This is one of the most commonly expressed excuses I hear from people.

When I initially started reading in the Word of God about how I could become more like Jesus, and then compared it to where I was, I also said, “I want to do things Your way, God, but it is so hard.” God graciously showed me this is a lie the enemy tries to inject into our minds to get us to give up. But God’s commandments are never too difficult for us to follow if we do them through Christ’s strength.

Walking in obedience to God is not too hard because He has given us His Spirit to work in us powerfully and to help us in all He has asked of us (John 14:16). He is in us and with us all the time to enable us to do what we cannot do, and to do with ease what would be hard without Him!

Things get hard when we try to do them independently without leaning on and relying on God’s grace.