Never Give In-Never Give Up
In Bible times, the greatest way that they would express grief, sorrow, heartache, pain was to rend or tear their clothing. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is full of people tearing their clothes in desperation and despair. Job did it. Joshua and Caleb did it. David did it. Great kings did it. Many people did it. In dire situations, they would tear their clothes as an outward expression of great grief, regret, and despair. It was a signal to the rest of the world of grief that was too heavy to bear and sorrow that was too deep to express.
We all experience pain. We all experience grief, and frustration, and fear. We all experience pain and sorrow. BUT, if we avail ourselves of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and we avail ourselves of God’s presence, then there is nothing bigger and greater than our God.
When you draw near and after you have prayed and praised and worshipped, look up! Here comes the anointing oil. Here comes the garment of praise. Here comes the presence that heals the broken places. We’re never in a place that we can’t overcome. Thanks be unto God who always causes us to triumph in every place.
What do you do when you go through difficult seasons and feel overwhelmed?
- Obey the scriptures and not tear my garment verbally by talking defeat. What are the first words you tend to express when you go through difficult times?
- Do not set your heart on your losses and focus on your problems. When difficult times come are you more likely to remember all the other bad times or to remember God’s faithfulness in the past?
- Focus on the promises, and set your heart on God and His goodness and His faithfulness. Can you recite 3-5 promises from scripture that would be encouraging in bad times?
- Give Him glory when you come out on the other side of your situation. When you come through a storm or there is resolution to your problem, is your first instinct to feel relief and move on, or to come before the Lord and thank Him?
Joel 2:13 says, Rend your hearts, not your garments. When you go through something that’s tragic, devastating and overwhelming, and you don’t feel like it can ever be fixed and be right again, remember that He said, tear your heart, not your garment. Let brokenness come. Let it drive you back to your knees. Let it drive you back to the only source of joy in this life – the Word of God. Hearing His voice. Sitting at His feet. But do all of these knowing that God is FOR you…and there IS hope and great purpose on the other side of that mountain.
Rend your heart. Die to your name. Die to your reputation. Die to your pride. Die to everything. Jesus made himself of no reputation. And He said rend your hearts, and not your garment. If you’re going to tear something up, let it be your heart.
Watch "Don't Tear Your Garments" to learn more.
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