In Trying Times, Keep Trying
By Rick Warren
"Don't give up and be helpless in times of trouble." Proverbs 24:10 (CEV)
Life is filled with things you can’t control, and many people let that keep them from pursuing the dream God has put in their heart. In the middle of uncontrollable circumstances and problems, learn to live your life for God and do whatever he's called you to do.
In other words, you control the controllables and trust God for the rest. You can control your attitude, your reactions, and how much you trust God. Those are your choices.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have put everything on hold in their life. They act like they're in limbo, and so they do nothing. They're just waiting. And they're the ones getting the most frustrated.
You may not be able to do everything you’d like to do right now, but that doesn't mean you can't do something. It doesn't mean you should coast passively and waste these days during the pandemic.
Limitations are opportunities for creativity. When our church was unable to meet in person for worship, we were more active and effective in the other four purposes of our church: fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission.
The first year of the pandemic could have been our worst year—and it certainly felt like the worst in many ways—yet it ended up being our church's greatest year for starting small groups, developing disciples, launching ministries in the community, and reaching more nonbelievers than we've ever reached before. This happened because so many people understood that the church is far more than just a worship service. It's family, and it is active every day of the week, not just on Sunday.
We couldn’t control how the pandemic kept us from worshipping together. But we could control how we responded and chose to use the resources that were still available to us.
Proverbs 24:10 says, "Don't give up and be helpless in times of trouble" (CEV).
Have you stopped trying? Have you given up on something because you lost control of some part of it?
During trying times, you've got to keep trying. There is a lot of trouble in the world right now, but you're not helpless. Look up and outside of yourself. Change your attitude. Take stock of your resources and use them to help others.
This could be your greatest year.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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