The Breakthrough Moment with Rev. Bernese Shaw (9/28) - "Don't Give Up. Trust God!"

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.

Again this week I would like to focus on our Wednesday Morning Prayer Conferences. We have been lifting up different prayers about different concerns that we are going through. I know that there is a human behavior that after several times praying and requesting help from God we might decide to give up (God just won’t answer our prayers), but this morning I want to continue to encourage hope, peace and trust in our Heavenly Father that is DON’T GIVE UP. TRUST GOD!

1 John 5:14-15 tells us This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us –whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him. The Lord promises to guide us when we pray according to His will. Psalm 83 says O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God. Satan wants us to dwell on our negative feelings of rejection, abandonment, loneliness. "I'm not ever going to get a job, I am about to lose everything, my children won’t straighten out, there is no hope, my marriage is about to be destroyed with divorce, my boss is waiting for me to make a mistake so he/she will have a reason to fire me, why did this have to happen to me and I am at my wits end". Satan wants these negative thoughts to grow. The positive side is to keep sending resumes for a job, keep talking to your children and praying for them, seek counseling with your marriage problem, and seek financial advise on how to handle whatever amount of money you may have and be very conscious of your spending. We can’t always avoid antagonistic feelings, but we can control how we react to them. So, in our world that is full of injustice, being hurt when friends and family betray our confidence, and harm those we love; we get to a point that we want to give up. Romans 8:28 reminds us as believers of God to trust God and He will work for our good in every situation and circumstance. So again this morning, I want to remind us that you and I can choose to respond to these powerful emotions not in a negative way but in a way that will honor the Lord. The Holy Spirit within us enables us to endure and run on with life's consequences, so wrap yourself in the arms of the Lord. Psalms 55:16-17 says: But I call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice. We must remain faithful and trust God to deliver us. In a very real sense, our unmet need is a form of trial and temptation. It is a trial because its lack of fulfillment can feel truly painful, and it is a temptation because it urges us to turn away from God to meet our own need. But James 1:12 says Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. So what are you to do when the delay goes on, the pressure to give up increases, and you feel weary of beating yourself up with false guilt that everything is your fault. This may sound redundant, but keep your eyes on the Lord and follow Him – no matter what. James 1:4 tells us that the testing of our faith leads to perseverance, which works to make us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So keep your faith in the Lord and your unwavering trust will lead you to profound results. Get on your knees before the Lord and pour out your heart. Spend time prayerfully reading His word. And, listen to his voice with specific guidance for your life. Phil 4:6-7 tells us that God’s word promises us peace if we will give God our worries and trust in Him. I know this sometimes seems hard to do with whatever you are going through. But I am a witness this morning if you wrap yourself in the Lord, His grace and mercy will protect you and sustain you. The words of T. D. Jakes, “your down time is your prep time for what he is about to be release in your life; God allows you to have a winter because your summer is coming in your life.” When you feel that everything is out of control, God is allowing you to have preparation time to become stronger in Him so to be ready for the breakthrough that you are about to receive; DON’T GIVE UP. TRUST GOD! The old Saints sing I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord until I die, I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord until I die. So keep trusting in God because He will not leave you or forsake you DON’T GIVE UP. TRUST GOD! AMEN.