Tag: giving up

giving up

When You Feel Like Giving Up

Posted on by Evangeline

The enemy would like nothing better than for us to give up on our God-given desires and goals.

When we feel like God is not following through on His promises…

When we don’t see the results we anticipated…

We need a plan. A plan that we can count on to pull us through the tears, the fears, and the dread that comes when we experience delay. I think the best plan for maintaining hope and for changing any circumstance in our lives always needs to include the power of God’s Word. The Word is what helps us remember that the God of the universe loves us without fail and is always on our side. The Bible makes it clear that God loves us with a no-matter-what love. Incorporating His promises into our plan makes it an effective battle plan so that we maintain hope and strongly resist giving up.

The Alternative to Giving Up

David encouraged himself when he was on the verge of giving up (1 Samuel 30:6).  You could do the same, couldn’t you?

Here are 4 examples from Scripture that you can use as a part of your battle plan to ultimately live as the victor God created you to be. Use them to keep yourself encouraged about experiencing what God has promised:

  • “But as for you, be strong and do not give up.” – 2 Chronicles 15:7
  • “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial.” – James 1:12
  • “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” – Mark 10:27

  • “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then.” – Ephesians 6:12-14

What other scriptures would you add to this list? Please share one in the comments! 🙂 

The Word is what helps us remember that the God of the universe is on our side and loves us with a no-matter-what love. It makes our plan into an effective battle plan so that we maintain hope and strongly resist giving up. Click To Tweet

Let God Do What Only He Can Do

Posted on by Evangeline

wait with confidence - let go and let God

 

So many times we get stuck. The more we look at our circumstances and our lack of progress, the more we become impatient with God’s plan. Then we feel even more stuck. And being stuck causes us to gradually stop trusting God and stop having any hope that He will keep His promise.

This is a “rerun” of a post from a year ago. My hope is that it will help you see beyond your circumstances. Focus on God’s willingness to do what it takes to help you reach your destiny that He planned for you.

⇒⇒ [Check out the new exciting offer at the end of this post!] ⇐⇐

Have you ever been able to really “let go and let God” do the work that only He can do in your life? Psalm 138 provides motivation to let God do the work– to allow Him to bring to fruition all the good that He planned for you. Here is that Scripture in its entirety:

1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, [And] made me bold [with] strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth.

5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great [is] the glory of the LORD.

6 Though the LORD [is] on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.

8 The LORD will perfect [that which] concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, [endures] forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

 

Look Closer

Verse 8 is the particular verse I want to call your attention to. As you probably know by now, I enjoy reading various versions/translations of Scripture. Here are some other ways of stating verse 8:

The Lord will work out his plans for my life. (TLB)

Will you trust Him to do so, in His way and His timing?

Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now. (MSG)

Will you decide to not give up on His love for you?

Adonai will fulfill his purpose for me. Your grace, Adonai, continues forever. (CJB)

Will you choose to live enjoying His abundant grace every day?

You will do everything You have promised. (GNT)

Do you believe He’ll keep His promises for you?

Which version resonated with you? It’s clear that God wants to work on your behalf and to bring His promises to fruition in your life, no matter what the obstacles may currently be.

Believe His love. Allow Him to do what He does best.

Exciting Offer!

borrowed hope- let God Sarah found herself stuck in infertility for decades. She reached a point where she tried to do what only God could do. That failed miserably and created a whole new set of problems. BUT, she discovered that when she stood on God’s promise to her, she was able to wait with confidence.

If you feel stuck in infertility, I have an exciting new resource that may help you. It’s a book I’ve co-authored with Angela Williams. The title is Borrowed Hope: Sarah’s Story of Triumph Over Infertility. It will be released in September 2018! 🙂 

Don’t miss it!

Want to receive notification of when Borrowed Hope is available? Let me know by filling out the form below.

5 Secrets for Maintaining Hope When You Feel Like Giving Up

Posted on by Evangeline

Evangeline Colbert - Hope in Hard Places

Here are some thoughts about hope that I shared over a year ago at In Due Time. If you’re about to give up because you’re feeling stuck in a difficult situation, I think this will help:

I know what the pressure of infertility feels like. It’s as if it completely surrounds you, pressuring you to give up, to not see any advantage in continuing to hope. In the midst of infertility, life can feel like you’re always stuck between a rock and a hard place. It seems like not much is working out in your favor. Every day seems as if infertility colors how you view life. It looms over every aspect of your life, clouding your vision so it’s hard to see anything good that’s on the horizon.

But I’m glad to share with you that in that place of feeling stuck, hope can shake things up, freeing you to enjoy life!

Here are 5 secrets that I’ve found to be powerful in nurturing and maintaining hope as you look to come out of this struggle with infertility.

  1. Believe God loves you. His love is a “no matter what” kind of love. No matter what you’ve done/thought/said, He loves you with an unfailing and unending love.
  2. Decide to not give up. Don’t underestimate the power of a decision!
  3. Remember the previous times, big or small, when God has come through for you. Encourage yourself.Think about those successes and the joy you experienced.
  4. On a daily basis, affirm the promise of God that relates to your situation by speaking the Word out loud. Instead of focusing on medical facts, allow God’s Word to be your point of focus and become your truth.
  5. Greet each morning with gratitude for the gift of a new day. This helps set a positive tone for the day ahead of you. Thankfulness has a way of shifting our attitude, choices, and behavior.

Hope established upon Jesus’ love never disappoints.

Hope is one of the three things that 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us will always remain as a resource that allows us to tap into God’s grace. We are to always have hope—the joyful and confident expectation of God coming through for us!

Allow hope to shake things up in your life so that you experience the freedom to confidently expect good things from a very good Father.

An Affirmation for You: God loves me and desires for me to experience only His goodness. I rest in His love for me. I choose to allow His desires for my life to be my desires. I maintain my hope in God!

When you’re feeling stuck in a situation at work, how do you bring yourself out of that? How can you apply that same strategy to infertility or some other personal struggle?

 

Don’t Give Up — What If What You Want Is Just Around the Corner?

Posted on by Evangeline

Just a quick, friendly reminder today — DON’T GIVE UP!

Find your hope in the comforting, steadfast, and powerful promises of God (Romans 15:4).

Don't Give Up

Image courtesy of Infertility Inspirations

A Story of Fertility Hope – Part 1

Posted on by Evangeline

Having fertility hope is important!

If you feel like giving up on God in your hope for improved fertility and having a child, read on…

Recently, I shared with you that a woman who has been reading my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, had become pregnant.

 

fertility hope, A Seed of Hope

Camille and I first communicated about 2 years ago because she’d found my blog and posted a comment. In addition to responding to her comment on the blog, I sent her a personal email reply a few weeks later.   I got a response from her (back in July 2012) that she has given me permission to share:

Hello Evangeline,

I hope you are well.

It was meant for you to send me an email just when you did. God knows what we need and when we need it. I have been reading A Seed of Hope and it is very encouraging. However, I have not been in the Word (the Bible or A Seed of Hope) the last few weeks. Things have been rough for me emotionally. I’ve been having feelings of questioning God and my faith, then feeling guilty for that.

I have received the news of so many people announcing their pregnancy within recent weeks. I am happy for them, but it makes me sad that it hasn’t been my time. Then I feel guilty because although we have been dealing with infertility, I have so many reasons to be grateful: life with all my faculties, a wonderful, loving and supportive husband, family, and much more. So much more it is impossible for me to name them all.

I also feel guilty because I don’t want my relationship with the Lord being only based on Him making this happen for me or for it to be perceived that way. I also feel guilty at times because I have let this infertility issue consume so much of my mind and energy instead of focusing on the Word and goodness of God. I then get mad at myself because I know it’s the trick of the enemy but I still fall for it.

Thank you so much for checking in because just reading your email has given me encouragement. The fact that you emailed me this day, during this time, at one of my lowest emotionally, confirms to me that the Lord hears my cry and he knows what I need and when I need it. Thank you for listening to God’s Spirit leading you to email me. BTW, I have recommended the book to other friends who are going through similar situations.

Thank you,

–Camille 

Two years later, in July 2014, I “happened” to come across her email while cleaning out a file (I LOVE IT WHEN GOD SETS THINGS UP!). I decided to check in with her to see how she was doing. When I received her reply, my chin dropped to the floor—she was almost 38 weeks pregnant! More important than anything else in her journey, Camille’s heart had become fertile ground for the seed of God’s Word she planted (Mark 4:14-20).  It grew and flourished in her life as she made the spiritual aspect of the infertility a priority. It enabled her to increase her trust in God and expect a miracle from Him.

Next week, I’ll share a part of her most recent email to me. I know that it will give you hope and inspire you to trust the promises of God.

Will you choose to hope continually even when things look hopeless?

If you need some in-person inspiration and relief from the daily stress of infertility, please come to my next Fertility Retreat, November 7-9, 2014 in Phoenix, AZ.

fertility hope, iHope fertility retreat