Life is often a roller coaster full of ups and downs. Mostly, it goes like this… The very moment you feel that all your ducks are in a row, that everything is going right and you're finally on the right track, you also start to feel resistance, you start to get hit with the struggle and it begins to go downhill from there.
You may have been really excited and amped up for this next chapter in your life, or a new project you started, or for this school year, and now you’re here. It’s getting harder, you’re feeling the struggle, you aren’t seeing progress and it feels like it's just time to give up.
When you start to burn out, when you start to feel resistance build up, you feel discouragement or lack of progress God has encouragement for you. God had spoken through the prophet Haggai, to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the high priest and commanded that the people rebuild the temple, the Lord’s House. This task that God had placed before these people was not an easy one, but the Lord declared that He was with them. He stirred up the spirit within each person and they began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God.
Just days later the people started to see that this task was hopeless, they could never rebuild the temple against the standards of the previous, the work was too hard, it was taking too long and they began to see it as a lost cause. The same thing often happens to us. We get this stir in us to do something, to start a work of some sort and we are amped about starting it. You’re excited to get started on it and tackle it and you know it’s going to be good. Likewise, God places a calling on our hearts, a task, and a glimpse of our purpose in building his kingdom. He has stirred up a fire in our spirit to tackle that task, that goal, or project or something. We get started and we’re in it and it's going well… for a while… Then, as I like to say, LIFE happens.
Just like the people God had called to rebuild the temple, we begin to feel resistance, we burn out. When we face this resistance, we start to feel discouragement. It’s taking too long, you can’t see progress or change, it looks so much easier for someone else. It isn’t living up to the expectations, or it seems harder now than it was before you started. This is exactly how those people felt when attempting to rebuild God’s house. But, what God said to them, still holds true to our situations today.
His word is still evident in our lives today as we work towards building His kingdom here on Earth. God says, “But now be strong, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty.
This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear” (Haggai 2:4-5). Be Strong, and work. Do not be afraid. God is saying that He understands that it gets hard sometimes, but He does not want you to forget that He is with you and to remember that this is what he has called you to. This place, this struggle is where you are meant to be. You may feel weak, you feel like you can’t hold on or try anymore.
Know that in that weakness God is using you. In those moments of weakness, God will use you to demonstrate His strength. Be strong and keep pushing forward, “His spirit remains among you. Do not fear.” God has covenanted promises to you, promises over your life and He will fulfill those and it will be more glorious than you could imagine.
Trust that He will pull you through. But you have to do what he has called you to do in these times. Be strong and work. You have to choose the hard right of doing the work over the easy wrong of giving up. When you get to this point, and we all get there, look to God and He will restore your energy, He will keep you motivated.
His word and His promise will give you the stamina you need to keep working. Know that when you feel that tension, God will pull you through it. Continue to work, to push yourself through the struggle, you are not alone and you can do it. BE STRONG. DO WORK. DON’T FEAR.
