Asa...

Life has been interesting these past few months. The economic engine that ran my business basically dried up. Nothing I did had any effect whatsoever on the income stream. The spigot was open, but no water flowed.

At first it was quite scary. I had employees counting on me to make payroll, bills to pay, obligations to be met. I had no idea what I was going to do. I cut expenses, let my employees go, quit paying myself and basically hunkered down to weather the storm.

But the inner storm was something completely different. I blamed myself for what seemed like failure. Everywhere I looked seemed to remind me that I hadn't quite made the mark. More than the money, that's what seemed most unjust. Yes, I said it, unjust. I had made an attempt to launch out in faith to start my business some years ago and, well, isn't God supposed to reward faith? Some reward. Fear. Failure. Uncertainty. It didn't seem like the story of triumph I had hoped for.

Recently, I told my friend Jon, "brother, I feel like I've been led into the desert. No matter where I turn there is no water to drink."

He reminded me that the great men of faith, at least recorded in the Bible endured such things and worse following the call of God. Hmmm, what was it about David, Moses, Joseph and Jesus, that sustained them through their desert experiences? It was a question that was worth pondering and as I did...

I found a favorite, long lost, Bible. It had been deposited in a box, put in storage and, in my mind now, was waiting for this moment. I brought the Bible home, sat down and flipped it open to the following passage, a passage I don't remember ever reading:

The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found
by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was
without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their
distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was
found by them... God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for
you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. (2 Chronicles
15:2-4, 6-7; NIV)

It was like the heavens opened up and encouragement poured out from the throne of God. God spoke, through His word, "be strong and do not give up, for YOUR WORK WILL BE REWARDED. Does that mean me, God? The skeptic immediately tried to shout down the beautiful, still voice of God, but I would not let it. I read it over and over and over. I meditated on it. Iswirled it around in my brain, like someone savoring a fine wine. It was amazing. Often, it seems, God chooses to speak encouragement before acting. He does not want us to give up, so just at the right time, the right place...He shows up, somewhere.

So if you are on the verge of giving up, don't. Listen instead for the voice that never gives up, the one who leads us in triumphant procession before our enemies.