Manna for Your Morning

…and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. — Revelation 2:3 (NKJV) The dictionary says persevere means to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success. No matter how things may appear at this moment in time, we need to persevere. Let us always stand on God’s Word, persist in prayer and continually thank and praise God for victory and success in every area of our lives. Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail. (James 5:10-11 MSG)

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. — Romans 15:4 (NKJV) The Scriptures, even though inscribed long ago, were written for us. They were written to give us hope and encouragement. In the Word, we can see the faithfulness of God. We see that even though God’s people endured and persevered through all kinds of difficult situations, God faithfully brought them through and gave them double for their troubles, many times over. Let us heed the words of Joshua 1:8 and never let the Book depart from our mouths, and consistently meditate in it day and night, so that we may observe to do according to all that is written in it. Then we will make our way prosperous, and then we will have good success and a living hope.

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” — Revelation 3:8 (NKJV) God is well aware of all the things you do. Rest assured that any labor you have done in the Lord is not vain. You may have little strength because you have persevered through many storms, but take heart you shall overcome. Behold, God is doing a new thing! He has set before you an open door, a fresh start. And any door that God opens for you, no one can shut, but you must stop looking back, and walk through the open door in order to move on. Don't get stuck trying to force a closed door open that you miss out on the future opportunities that the open door has for you.

And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the  LORD  gave Job twice as much as he had before. — Job 42:10 (NKJV) Job lost everything and greatly suffered with painful boils, all over his body. But Job persevered through the adversity and prayed for his friends, who had made many accusations against him. Then, God restored him. The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part (Job 42:12). After his troubles, Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations (Job 42:16). In the midst of whatever circumstances come our way, may we remember to take our eyes off of ourselves and pray for our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.