Don’t Fold. Come Out Like Refined Gold

In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, God gave me the phrase for the blog. It is easy to give up when everything painful and challenging comes at you all at once. However, like in the Olympics or any sport, you must push through until the end to get the gold. I see athletes push through pain & injury, even when their bodies feel like giving out. We as believers have the race of life. We must hold onto our faith even when we don’t feel or see anything changing. We as believers see and hear with our spiritual eyes and ears.

Persevere with patience.

1 Peter 1:6-7 New Living Translation: ⁶ So be truly glad. There is tremendous joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Remain out of strife.

Galatians 5:6: Faith works by love.

Hold on to your faith.

^{Hebrews 10:35-39: 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:}

Shift the focus on God.

Psalm 121:1:  I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?² My help comes from the Lord,Who made heaven and earth.

^{Hebrews 12:1-2: 6 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy[ awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.}

Pray and praise daily.

^{Thessalonians 5: 16-18: 16} Rejoice always and delight in your faith; ¹⁷ be unceasing and persistent in prayer; ¹⁸ in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

Don’t fold! Come out like refined gold.

Prayer: God, I thank you for your faithfulness. I repent for allowing the pressure to get to me. I persevere with patience, trust in God, prayer, and praise. Thanks be to God who always causes me to triumph through Him!