HSD: It’s Time to Push Back

Come here. Come take a walk with me.

Before meeting you for our walk today, I went on my usual run.

As often as I can, I enjoy going out for an early morning run to spend some time with Jesus and spend some time with myself.

It helps me to be intentional for the rest of the day and clears my head of distracting thoughts.

Anyway, this morning I felt a little discouraged.

Spiritual warfare has been particularly intense over the past couple of weeks, so I just needed the alone time.

I decided to run and listen to online testimonies sharing the power of God’s goodness...

When suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen on my left-hand side.

I knew I hadn’t taken enough time to allow my breakfast to digest, so I was regretting the haste I had taken when leaving my home.

Still…I was faced with a choice.

Do I stop now, or do I keep running?

Now anyone who has ever run before knows that when a cramp takes over, it can be very painful to keep running.

It is also not medically advisable to keep running at the same pace if one suffers a cramp.

One should either slow down or stop altogether in accommodation of the affected muscle.

But as I considered the couple weeks of fight I had endured while actively listening to powerful testimonies,

Something in me…snapped.

Instead of stopping.

I took my hand, pushed into the cramp, and I kept running.

With the pain increasing with each step I took, I remained committed to my run and I pushed against the pain to finish out my lap.

I just refused to stop running.

Then this Word came to me…

The presence of pain is not an excuse to give up.

The presence of pain should remind you that you are actually moving forward.

After my run, the Holy Spirit led me to look up the definition of the word ‘perseverance.’

It means, “The act of continuing with something, especially something difficult, despite obstacles or discouragement. It involves steadfastness, persistence, and tenacity in the face of challenges. Essentially, it’s about not giving up.”

He then led me to these two scriptures:

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Romans 5:3

And also…

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

James 1:2-4

I need you to listen to me as actively as possible…

Whatever you are going through in this season is not an excuse to give up on God, nor is it an excuse to give up on yourself.

If anything, you are expected to fight back.

You are expected to keep going.

You are expected to persevere and allow this perseverance to prepare you for your next level.

Forget what the world tells you about how you should respond to your situation.

YOU are expected to remember the promises and the goodness of God.

YOU are expected to fight back.

Even with tears stinging my eyes and sketching individual paths along my cheeks—

that something that God allowed to snap within me absolutely refused to let the pain I was feeling dictate what I left my house to accomplish.

If there’s pain, you push against it.

If there’s discouragement, you run past it.

If there’s doubt, you pursue what is evident.

And what is evident is that God’s grace has helped you to survive 100 percent of the battles you’ve faced thus far in your life.

And since He is the same God yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever more, He will continue to maintain that survival rate—guaranteed.

So, you continue to allow Him to produce the character necessary to give you all you have been praying for.

You continue to persevere past discouragement and pain by seeking Him anyway.

You continue to trust the process and keep running.

But don’t you dare allow the enemy to help you feel badly for yourself.

No.

You are a child of God.

Every single experience down to the paper cut your received last week is all working toward your good. He will use every single thing for your good. He wastes nothing.

So my sibling-in-Christ.

Keep pushing. Keep running. No more giving up. No more tears of dwelling.

Dwelling causes delay.

We don’t have that kind of time.

We want our blessings and our purposes to be fulfilled TODAY.

Receive this. Share this.

And in everything you do…

Be sure to lead with Love.

Holy Spirit, I thank You for this Word today. Please let it meet the eyes of every person who needs to hear this so that they may be encouraged to move forward and lead others to you with Love. We love You, Lord, and we thank You. In Jesus’ Name to the Glory of the Father, we thank You. Amen.