| Why don't we see more of God's promises fulfilled in our lives? Because we overlook the process. It is in the process of reaching the promise that we become discouraged and quit. Success in any venture lies in holding on, even when others let go. We demand instant gratification and if we don't get it we leave our jobs, our churches, and even our families. But there's a process we must go through, regardless of our level of faith. There are no shortcuts. We've got to pay full price; it never goes on sale. Endurance is the price tag of achievement: '...in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart' (Galatians 6:9 NKJV).
For years, William Wilberforce pushed Parliament to abolish the slave trade. Discouraged, he was about to give up when his elderly friend John Wesley heard of his campaign, and from his deathbed called for pen and paper. With trembling hand Wesley wrote, 'Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and of devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? O be not weary in well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.' Wesley died six days later. Wilberforce fought for 42 more years. Three days before his death, slavery was abolished in Britain. Eventually, it was abolished in America too. Hang in there - what God has in store for you is worth any price you have to pay. |
