Full Speed Ahead
Last Friday, I received a call from a member of Congress who reads the Give Him 15 posts and wanted to encourage me. This person, without giving details, wanted me to know that having a slim margin in Congress will not be all bad. As contradictory as it seems, they emphasized that there are some necessary changes within Congress that will be easier to make with a slimmer margin than they would have been with a larger one. This person was obviously not talking about passing or stopping national laws, but regarding changes within Congress - or perhaps our Conservative leadership itself. They gave no further details regarding this.
They also wanted me to know that there is a growing number in Congress who realize there is no hope for America without a great revival/awakening. The call was very encouraging.
Slowly but surely, we are winning the war for the soul of America. Evil is being exposed, circumstances are getting more difficult adding to the desperation of Americans, but revival is coming. Critical mass is approaching. God is in control of the timing; our job is to persevere.
Here are ten great quotes I found regarding perseverance:
“It always seems impossible until it is done.” Nelson Mandela
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…unless you fail to make the turn.” Helen Keller
“It’s always too soon to quit!” Norman Vincent Peale
“The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.” John C. Maxwell
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” Walter Elliot
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” Henry Ford
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pele
“Fall seven times and stand up eight.” Japanese Proverb (1)
One of my favorite biblical examples of perseverance is Eleazar, one of David’s mighty warriors. “He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the Lord brought about a great victory that day,” (2 Samuel 23:10). What determination! In defending the nation of Israel, Eleazar fought past his weariness, and when he no longer possessed the physical strength needed to control his hand, he held onto the sword with his heart! When the battle was over, his comrades waded through the bodies and peeled Eleazar’s hand from his sword.
I have found that perseverance truly is a heart issue. If our efforts don’t flow from a genuine passion originating from the heart, they will wither in the heat of battle.
Betio Beach was a significant battle in WWII. It was imperative that America take this beach in the South Pacific. The odds against us doing so, however, were great. The results of the battle were horrific, and the hearts of our men were heroic. In his book Looking for America, Douglas Simpson states concerning our soldiers, “Never before in the history of warfare have men been asked to face such withering fire before them with only the cold sea behind to which to retreat.” (2)
The Japanese, knowing the importance of this location, had hand-picked 6500 of their finest soldiers and placed them in fortified positions from which to defend the beach. When the battle began, it was terrible. Our men were cut in half by the firepower. Seventy-five of the 125 landing crafts were destroyed. The waters of the lagoon turned crimson; hundreds of bodies bobbed in the surf, with hundreds more littering the beach. The Marines suffered 3000 plus casualties but still kept attacking. Of those who reached the pier, many did so by walking on the submerged bodies of their fallen comrades!
By the end of the second day, Colonel Shoup, commander of the Marine landing forces, radioed to headquarters, “Casualties many; percentage dead unknown; combat efficiency - we are winning.” Though the battle was costly, our Marines took the beach.
Incredible commitment.
Those of us who have determined to see America restored to her roots and destiny, which is linked to the great revival God has planned, must have hearts like Eleazar and these Marines. We do not war spiritually until we are tired; we war until we win. Our faith is not in an election, a person, or political party. Our faith is reliant upon what God says. That settles it for us.
I was with Tom and Jane Hamon this past weekend in Nashville. Jane spoke a powerful word from the book of Esther. (On tomorrow’s post, we will play a recent interview with Jane where she talked about the same subject. You won’t want to miss it.) At the end of the interview, Jane said to me: “Dutch, I believe we're coming into a very serious season of God overturning. It's going to be a little chaotic - kind of like it was in Esther 9, because people must make some decisions about how they're going to align. But I believe that we're coming into one of the greatest days of turnaround for our nation and the earth.”
Friends, keep your focus on the bigger picture and end goal. Keep your heart in tune with heaven. Keep your emotions in check. And keep your foot on the pedal.
Pray with me:
Father, we thank You for the victories we are seeing in our nation. Although the war for the spiritual soul of America is intense, we are winning. We ask that this would continue. Lord, continue to awaken people to our condition, the need to get involved, and the power of prayer.
We pray that You will work into us hearts like Eleazar possessed. “Never quit” hearts. “Fight through weariness” hearts. “Cling to the sword” hearts. Our Betio Beach is spiritual, our weapons as well. We will continue to engage spiritually to empower the changes occurring in America. We will continue to war for the salvation of our sons and daughters. We will fight for their hearts. We will continue to decree the exposure of corruption and evil in our government, media, and educational system. We will continue to war for awakening in our churches and pulpits. We ask You for fire, holy fire. We ask for miraculous outbreaks of awakening. And we thank You for these things, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Our decree:
We declare that we are “never quit” warriors, holding fast to the word of the Lord.
Portions of today’s post can be found in my book The Way Back.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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Simpson, Douglas, Looking for America, p 310.