Time by itself does nothing but grow us old. It's what we do with time that makes all the difference. We often say, "Time heals," yet I've known just as many that time embittered. Only God heals. Only God restores. Only God effectively prepares, teaches, equips, and matures. But you can count on Him to use the test tube of time in which to accomplish it.

But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times… .Then the city wall will collapse, and the people will advance. Joshua 6:4—5

We must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up. Galatians 6:9

Isaiah 40:31: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (KJV). When we wait on God, He gives supernatural strength and accomplishes the inconceivable!

The Lord will do great things for me, and I will be filled with joy. I will sow in tears, then I will reap with songs of joy. If I go out weeping, Lord, carrying seed to sow, I will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with me (Ps. 126:3, 5-6).

There's no doubt, though, that fighting the good fight of faith takes energy! But then so do selfpity, anger, unforgiveness, and self-loathing. Each of us must decide where we're going to put our energy when the battle grows fierce.

Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered. . . . Remain spiritually tenacious Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Father, You have promised that those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. (Ps. 126:5—6)

Oh, beloved, God is faithful. Even when the enemy tries to batter us and make us lose confidence, God can take the victory with a demonstration of the Spirit's power. In those times God sometimes produces a harvest of fruit unlike any other. Those who have been touched are encouraged in a faith that does "not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:5). They end up seeing God instead of us. Hallelujah.

What the world requires of the Christians is that they should continue to be Christians.

Being a Christian has not and does not come naturally or easy for me. I take that to be a good thing because I am sure that to be a Christian requires training that lasts a lifetime.

I'll give my heart and soul whenever I step on that field and even when I'm on the sidelines. And at the end of the day, that's really all you can ask of someone.