As Christians, we all try and put on a happy face every day. There are many who count on us to be that shoulder to cry or lean on, and there are others in our corners who are rooting for us and just want us to succeed in life. They are watching and trusting that if God will do it for us, then He will do it for them as well. We don’t want to let them down any more than we would want to let ourselves down. Our aim is to be that loving, supportive, nurturing, compassionate, spiritual woman that folks believe we are. On the flip side, the haters are trolling as well. They are waiting and hoping we’ll fall flat on our faces. We don’t want to let’em see us sweat, especially when we know the enemy would love to see a crack in our faith. So how do we keep pressing, not get weary, and triumph over the haters.
Keep Pressing
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:14(KJV), “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This verse has serious meat for us, because we understand from God’s Word that Paul did not have an easy time of it. He was beaten, thrown in jail, and ostracized because of his commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. At one point, he was a member of the upper echelon of Jewish society. He went from this stature to that of being a radical outcast by those most familiar to him. This means that Paul had to have made an assessment in his mind that is very useful for us to explore.
An assessment is a judgement or an evaluation of quality. We should note that God has documented in the Bible certain assessments made by prominent, faith-filled individuals. He has done this so that you and I would not need to exhaust the energy, research, and time to make these same assessments. Paul, for instance, weighed his former life as someone that hated Christians and was handsomely rewarded for it, against his life after becoming a born-again Christian. Think about it, Paul’s viewpoint was one of once having everything from a worldly view. He transitioned from this to a position of having almost nothing materialistically, but gaining everything spiritually. He made the assessment that gaining everything spiritually was leaps and bounds more valuable, and worth it to keep pressing for it no matter what the cost.
He said in Philippians 3:12-14 The Message (MSG), “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” This has to be our mind-and-heart-set as well.
Don’t Get Weary
Galatians 6:9 (KJV) gives us another piece of yummy encouragement. It says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” God tells us that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become tired from doing the good things that He’s told us to do—good things like earning a living, taking care of our family and friends, and being the best person we know how to be. Physically and emotionally, this work can be overwhelming at times. Many of us start to feel that we don’t have enough energy to do what needs to be done, and have a little ‘me’ time as well. We need to trust that God has the remedy.
The remedy for not wearing ourselves out is to lean on God for spiritual nourishment. To be honest, there are experiences where the wind gets knocked out of us. Disappointments can be especially wearisome. There are times when we might feel so hurt by a situation or a circumstance that we can’t imagine there’s anything that will remedy it, because it just takes us down. Heavenly Father tells us in 2Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV), “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” In this verse, God is giving us a strategy for victory. He’s telling us to lean upon His grace. We’re not perfect; we don’t deserve His goodness, but He is letting us know that He will give us mercy when we need mercy. He’ll give us grace, when we need grace. We can lean upon it! During those times when we feel the weakest, we can feast on His strength and be made strong!
Let the Haters Hate
Haters have existed since the fall of satan. They are in the background and that’s where we have to leave them. God has forewarned us in His Word. Jesus Christ said in John 15:18-19 (MSG) “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.” There will be those that try to steal our shine and buffet our way because that is what haters do. Jesus Christ didn’t want us to be ignorant of this, but instead, he wanted us to know what we’d be up against, so that we can have faith that he has our backs at all times.
Again, haters are gonna do what they do, and there is no way that we should allow them to stop us or hinder us in any way from doing what WE do. The thing is, we can’t stoop to their level, and this is where a lot of us get tricked and knocked off course. We let ourselves respond to their hate, and this robs us of precious energy. It keeps the cycle of negativity churning. The venom they spew will return to them at least seven-fold, so we don’t need to interfere with their consequences. We should keep it moving in positivity, and keep our minds focused on pressing onward and upward, towards the good things God has in store for us; for they are exceedingly good! ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
“Keep Pressing, Don’t Get Weary, Let the Haters Hate” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
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