Press Through
Don’t Stop Before Your Breakthrough
Philippians 3:13-14 NIV
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is aheadI press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 6:9 NIV
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The harvest isn’t promised to the most talented.
It isn’t promised to the smartest.
It isn’t promised to the strongest.
It’s promised to those who refuse to give up.
The question isn’t if you’ll face pressure.
The question is what you’ll do when it comes.
Point 1: Press Through the Pain
James 1:2-4 NIV
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kindsbecause you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Pain doesn't mean punishment.
Sometimes pain is preparation.
A seed has to break before it grows.
Gold is refined by fire.
Diamonds are formed under pressure.
Likewise, God often develops our character through seasons of difficulty.
Many people quit right before God’s timing.
Pain asks one question:
“Will you trust God when nothing makes sense?”
God isn’t just working on your circumstances.
He’s working on you.
Point 2: Press Through the Opposition
Nehemiah 4:6-9 NLT
At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.
Opposition often confirms you’re building something significant.
The enemy rarely attacks people who aren’t advancing God’s Kingdom.
Jesus never allowed opposition to distract Him from His assignment.
Don’t confuse opposition with God’s absence.
Sometimes opposition is proof you’re exactly where God wants you.
The loudest voices aren’t always the right voices.
Don’t allow human opposition to stop a divine assignment.
Point 3: Press Through Until You See the Promise
Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
There is a direct connection between perseverance and promise.
God rarely works according to our timeline, but He is always faithful to His Word.
Sometimes the first sign of your miracle is very small.
Don’t despise small beginnings.
God often starts small before He does something great.
Sometimes God asks us to remain faithful long before we ever see visible progress.
2 Kings 5:10-14 NIV
Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
The miracle wasn’t in the water. It was in the obedience.
Some people are one more prayer, one more step of faith, or one more act of obedience away from seeing God move.
Never let the voices around you silence the faith inside you.
When you’re tired:
- Stay in God’s Word.
- Stay connected to God’s people.
- Keep praying even when you don’t feel like it.
- Remember what God has already done.
- Focus on faithfulness instead of feelings.
2 Timothy 4:7 NIV
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Holy Spirit is saying one simple phrase today: Keep pressing.
Isaiah 40:31 NIV
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Your breakthrough isn’t reserved for the strongest person. It’s often experienced by the one who simply refused to quit.