Don't Lose Heart

One of the most disappointing, and in some cases frustrating, things that a person can be involved in is a situation where there is no heart. If you're familiar with sports, you may hear people talk about an individual and say, "they have skill, they have talent, but they have no heart". Meaning, they don't have the internal drive or will to win. You may have witnessed marriages where the couple, in some cases after being married for decades, acknowledges that they no longer have a heart for the relationship. They still "love" their spouse (whatever that means) but they no longer have a heart for the marriage. Meaning, they are no longer into their husband or wife, and are now ready to bail-out on their marital commitment. Some of us may know individuals that have jobs for which they no longer have a heart for. They go to work everyday and "do their job", but their heart is no longer in the work that they do.

These are just a few examples of what happens when people Lose Heart for the various things for which they are involved. But something is wrong when we begin to Lose Heart for God. You would like to think that this is impossible, but oh contraire. There have been more than a few believers, ministers and preachers included, that, in their walking with the Lord, have found themselves no longer having a Heart for God. They may have a heart for the ministry, they may have a heart for the things of the church, they may have a heart for the people of God; but they don't have a Heart for God. For this reason I would encourage all of us, Don't Lose Heart.

Life has a way of sapping your strength. You go through enough hard times and you just want to "give up". I'm not talking about suicide, I'm talking about not putting in the necessary effort and investment for which the particular endeavor requires. When we get to this juncture and we give up, this is when we have Lost Heart. When we allow the challenges and trials of life to weaken our faith, diminish our praise, decrease our worship and suspend our service; these are all the results of Losing Heart for God. A lot of times we don't like to associate our lack of interest in the things of God for a loss of heart "for" God. But the Bible clearly says that out of the heart come the issues of life (Proverbs 4). When you start to become slack in your devotion and faithfulness to the things of God, you've just started to Lose Heart for God.

The key to not Losing Heart for God is Hope. In the words of The Rev. Jesse Jackson, we've got to Keep Hope Alive. The scripture says in Galatians chapter 6, for us not to be weary in well doing, but in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. What are you expecting from God in your "due season"? What Promises has God made to you that you know, if you just hang in there, will be yours to claim, at His Appointed Time? There's a hope deficit in the Body of Christ, and it's causing many of the saints to give up prematurely and miss the Blessing that God has prepared and ordained for them. The scripture says about Jesus, "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross" (Hebrews 12). Jesus didn't lose heart for the Will of God in the Garden of Gethsemane because of the Hope of Joy that was set before Him. Identify and embrace the Hope and the Joy that the Father has set before you as you go through your trial; and Don't Lose Heart.