1 Reason to Hang on During Tough Times

How can we carry on when the tough times seem to never end? What can we do when our dreams are taking longer than expected to materialize? Aside from dreams, our everyday goals may not come to pass in the expected manner:

·        The job search takes months, instead of weeks.

·        Our healing takes longer than expected.

·        That new business opportunity doesn’t produce immediate results.

·        Important relationships take time to become stronger.

·        It takes longer than predicted to pay off debts.

It is so hard to keep up hope and faith when all we see in front of us is more struggles. That sea of woes can seem endless. But, are we seeing the truth, or is the beach on the horizon obscured by fog?

Florence Chadwick

In T.D Jakes’ book, Destiny, he tells the story of this champion swimmer. In 1952, she attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coastline. That’s 26 miles. After 15 hours, a heavy fog rolled in. 

She swam for about another hour, and then started to doubt herself. In addition, she was exhausted in every way possible. Florence asked the support team following her in a boat to pick her up.

Here’s the interesting part: Ms. Chadwick discovered that she had quit less than a mile short of her destination. She hadn’t been able to see the coastline because of the fog.

Two months later, she tried again. The weather conditions hadn’t changed. Fog still obscured her vision. This time, she kept a mental image of her destination in her mind. She pushed herself to reach the shore. Florence Chadwick attained her miraculous victory.

My Conclusion

Pastor Jakes reminds us to dig in our heels and never quit. Here is another quote from the book:

“You likely are closer than you could ever imagine. Keep seeing the destination in your mind so that it will give you the strength to relentlessly move toward it, despite the tiredness, despite the aches, despite the feeling of wanting to give up.”

The Bible tells us...

“…in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”—Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

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“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

How are you keeping your victory in sight?