How Can I Keep Going When I Want to Quit?

Lesson Conversation

Sit With Me Awhile

Hey guys, it's Karen.

I'm out in my garage and if you can see in the video there's three little crosses on the plywood.

The one at the top. It is the reason I'm sharing.

I was sitting in the chair I built in the garage - still using it for my morning prayer time; and I was asking God, what am I doing?

Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing?

I looked up and for the first time in my messy garage, which is there is progress. It's just slower than I want. But I looked up and I saw a cross. A pretty cross on the plywood that has been a part of the mess for so long.

I walked over and I took a picture of that little cross.

And then I walked back over to my chair and I noticed two little crosses. And then, I saw three little crosses.

I acknowledged them to the Lord and said, "All right, Lord. All right.

I am with You. I hear You.

I need to be honest. Lately, I've been trying to figure out am I where I'm

supposed to be. It's hot and it's I think I'm holding on to a lot of things I don't need in my life, that might be keeping me maybe where I don't belong.

I don't know. I'm trying to figure all that out.

Maybe you are too.

I don't know.

But uh this week I talked about coming back on and talking about learning to surf again. And it's not about surfing. It's about little bit by little bit and

how believing faith happens.

Maybe just about how about we don't get any worse than we were last time and that's basically what happened when I tried to surf the last time.

You see I had to believe I wanted to do it again.

And the only reason I started believing to surf again was because someone believed in me.

So my friend, Jesus believes in us.

I mean, isn't that so cool that Jesus believes in us and he puts a desire in our heart to want to follow him.

He puts a desire in our heart for believing more for our life than we allow ourselves to get to.

Sometimes we get in our own way.

I got to be honest, I've had a rough week.

I've been learning what I don't know what I'm even learning.

And and the thing is, I think God is taking some stuff out of me, definitely humbling me.

But it comes back to that itty bitty branded cross, and how God uses ordinary things to get our attention. To get our minds off of what we see, how we feel, the heat, and anything that distracts us from focusing on Christ.

So I am on my way out and I'm waiting on my truck to warm so I'm not wasting time. And actually, I will take my time even if I'm running a little behind to do the Lord's will again and again and again and again. I will do that.

And what I wanted to share was believing faith is like what it took for me to believe to try to surf again.

I don't know that I really cared to surf ever.

I kind of wanted to try and I tried a couple of times just to please the people that were wanting to surf. Looking back, I just wanted to be included and participate in what our lifestyle was doing at the time, right?

But I was the only one that couldn't get up. But goodness, Lord, that's got to be 10 years later and I'm 10 years older and probably weigh a little more. I don't know how strong I am compared to then, but my son bought me a surfboard for old people.

He believed I could do it. And I wanted to do it because he wanted me to.

But the thing is and the thing I want to talk about is I didn't I wouldn't have done it just because he believed it for me if I hadn't have genuinely felt what he felt.

How do you say it?

Faith is not a feeling.

If I hadn't have genuinely decided in my heart that I want to do this...

I had to get it in the gut. That believing faith in the gut.

If I'm going to try, I'm gonna try to do it.

I'm not going to try to fail.

I'm going to try to do it.

Do I have it in me?

You see, that was my question.

Do I have it in me?

And yeah, we do.

We have it in Christ.

And the thing is as I'm learning is that word unfeigned faith that we talked about a couple years ago that came back to me this morning thinking about unfeigned.

Unfeigned means genuine not fake.

Authentic meaning tried and true in the word agreed upon with God in your heart that you have a confidence in you that you know not only is God for you in it.

God's with you in it.

God's in you with what you're doing.

You have a confidence to know, God's saying, "Go, go for it."

That faith.

And so, no matter if it's a little thing or a big thing,

believing faith, unfeinged faith, not just faith.

You see,

because faith is not a feeling.

I could have got out there and tried and failed again just to please my my son and prove to him I couldn't do it. But what happened is I listened to his instructions.

You see, God gives his word to us, his instructions.

Looking back to this cross again because I won't even do these ministry videos without believing that I'm serving Christ and not just in a habit of doing a routine of what I've always done.

Those little crosses have been there and it's hard to see it but if you look at some of the ministry videos the backdrop that I did and I waited to do that that little series about the winch and the moving dirt and this would have been the next one ... the surfing parable.

I got this backdrop but I really wanted to do one with the actual plywood as a backdrop but I used that plywood and that cross as a backdrop with the stream that was a legit stream that testimony about. I've shared it about it, but it it was a little AI generated and it manipulated the video a little bit.

But the thing is is that was my unfeign faith, genuine faith, believing God with a confidence enough to do it, to build it, to order it, and to do these videos. But this morning, I'm on here because of unfeign faith.

I just wanted to encourage you in your believing unfeigned faith.

Meaning if I just tried to surf ...

... in order to surf I have to want to do it, somebody had to believe in me.

Somebody had to get me the surfboard.

Now think about God believed in us and God gave us his son and Jesus did it all. Said it was finished and God sent his spirit. Christ lives in us, right?

He is the basis of our faith. He is the mind of Christ. And we have to change our mind. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind daily.

Meaning God's thoughts. My thoughts exchanged for God's thoughts.

Right? So, the surfing, it's not about surfing. And it's not about moving dirt, running heavy equipment, or driving the winch. It's about what Christ is teaching me in my heart about unfeign faith. Genuine faith, not a feeling, not just doing good, not just believing God can,

God can do all things.

And we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

But there's a heart in agreement with God.

I had to get my heart in agreement with my son to even get in the water again to surf. Now, I'll get in the water and swim and jump and play. I like all that, but to put some speed behind me skating on water, you know, that takes a little more courage, but I guess part of me wanted to make my son proud.

I think that's what faith, unfeigned faith is.

Are we making God proud with what we're doing?

Genuine faith, not just doing something good.

I could have done this video earlier this week, but my heart wasn't in it.

I actually battled all week about giving up on a lot of stuff that I think is good because I just wasn't feeling it. And I think it was a temptation and an opportunity me for to grow.

I've learned about stumbling blocks in my path.

I've learned to recognize them and call them as stumbling blocks.

I've learned that Christ ... if we will believe on him. He gives us the courage and the eyesight and the hearing from him to know what to do.

The believing faith to stand on the stumbling block and pass over and keep going.

We could call it a like a beaver dam in a river, a mountain, but today I'm calling it a stumbling block.

What could be a stumbling block in your path that God's using as an opportunity or God's allowing as an opportunity for you to grow in your unfeigned faith, your believing faith?

You might be doing something really really good;

We could say, is it honoring God?

Is it, by me getting on the surfboard?

Is it an honor to God or did it try to make me look good?

Am I doing this video to look good or am I doing this out of my unfeigned faith to help encourage each other?

If I've been doubting this maybe you have been too?

All believers have a gift.

It takes believing unfeigned faith to do something to discover what that gift is.

Now I believe I'm understanding growing in discovering what my gift is to the church.

I do my best to make sure I'm in agreement with God about it.

Not that God's in agreement with me in it.

I follow Christ.

He doesn't follow me.

And the thing is, Jesus doesn't expect us to understand everything.

He expects us to follow him and learn as we go a little bit as a little bit.

So, what really motivated me to come on today is that I heard a pastor talk about

a story in that the Lord let him know that he knew the person's faith just wasn't in it to be healed.

And so the Lord gave him the revelation, let's pray.

And the guy was like, "Oh no, he's going to expect me to just jump out of here and run out of here."

He said, "How about we pray that you just don't get any worse today?"

And the guys lit up with a little light in his eyes.

See, he could pray that.

He could believe for that. He could add his believing faith to that prayer. He said, "Yeah, let's do that." And they did. And the next day, he wasn't any worse.

And so the pastor came back and said,

"Praise God. We can praise God now."

And so eventually they started praying.

Well, let's pray you get a little better.

A little better.

Not all at once ... Jesus can raise somebody up all at once.

God's taught me a little bit by little bit.

And the more we learn what God will do, the more our faith becomes genuine.

I don't want to do anything ... If I'm not believing Christ is saying, "Do it. Do it now and do it like this." God's teaching methods of how to demonstrate his love in my life. And I believe that's what our ministry call is, to demonstrate Christ in our life.

And it's not about appearances. That's why I didn't need my backdrop today.

I think it's good. It It keeps the focus and I did it with my unfeigned faith. But, my testimony today is this piece of plywood right here.

I don't know if I can get up close enough to it.

Can you see the crosses?

But I was sitting way over there in my chair talking to the Lord about it.

I'm like, God, what am I doing?

You know, we've got a gift of life to live.

And it was across 30 feet in the garage when I saw that cross ...

I got up and walked over and took a picture of it.

But even I struggle. I sometimes ask, God, what am I doing?

I could be doing so much with my life, which I am in a minute.

I am going to see those grandbabies.

But serving Christ first and foremost is believing with unfeigned faith.

And everything we do, it shall honor God.

So, it's not about the surfing.

And it doesn't matter if I got up or I didn't get up.

I haven't yet. I only tried three times that one time.

But I didn't get worse.

Right. Right.

And I didn't even think about that till just now.

I didn't get worse, but I actually did a little better because I had instructions.

You see, we're to encourage each other daily. And I invite you to encourage me, too, cuz I believe you have a revelation of God's Word in your life that I need to know.

And I thank God for the people that aren't afraid to share their their revelations with me from the Lord. You see, when we read the word, we should be getting a revelation from the word ...

Where we know it's Christ speaking directly to our life. what to do, how to do it, how to respond to life, how to respond to difficult situations.

And, don't complain because it's hot.

Don't get all worried because there's a big rain coming.

Trust in God with all your heart.

Lean not on your own understanding.

You see, faith is sure of what you hope for and certain of what you don't see.

And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And it's little bit by little bit we trust in God.

I'm just going to believe I'm not going to be any worse today.

And then the next thing I know with the surfboard example, ... It's just a parable.

Jesus often talked about parables

With the instructions my son came gave me for the first time. I had three good tries and I knew I'd gone as far as I could go that day without getting totally worn or torn apart.

I got up and over the surfboard, but that proved to me in my heart, at least I tried.

At least I gave it my all.

At least I believed with unfeigned faith that I could get up.

I didn't want to go out there with fake faith and not give it all I had.

You see what I'm saying?

And that's the message of today.

And so I learned why I only did it three times when we came back in.

Then my son said,

"Mom, you got up. Now you've got just just have to learn how to stay up."

And he started telling me instructions how to stay up.

So this has become the forth video in the series, Learning to Walk with Jesus, one lesson at a time.

It's not about the things. It's not about me.

It's all about Christ as the teacher and our unfeigned faith.

Pure, not fake, believing faith.

Have you ever thought of the word believing in the power of believing?

You see, I had to reason ... I'm using a surfboard as a parable.

It took me a day, actually two days.

I said yes on the first day.

It took me another day of "what if" I I don't know.

And then the next day, I had to really believe with unfeigned faith that I wanted to surf.

I got up. I got ready. I got dressed. And that day it was raining a little bit, storming.

But I my faith was not gonna give up.

I made a commitment to myself and God.

I'm going to try to surf today.

Try. And because I tried, that felt like success to me.

You see, faith is not trying with an excuse to fail.

The difference is faith ... believing you can in your gut where Christ lives in you.

Where you believe ,,, where you won't be fake about it.

You either believe or you don't believe.

You either want to or you don't want to.

I wasn't gonna lie to myself and I wasn't gonna lie to my son if I wanted to surf.

Surf or not. I had to really believe that I wanted to surf. I had to really begin to want to surf before I'd even try to surf. Or I'd have found excuse after excuse after excuse not to have got in the water with the life vest and the rope and the surfboard and and say yes; and say go and hold on with all I could ...

remembering my instructions as my son told me how to get up on the surfboard.

You see, for me, I I don't care much about being a surfing superstar.

I am so happy to watch people surf and and pull them. And you know what? I'm even learning to drive the boat.

So, next next lesson on my schedule is to talk about the driving the boat because I was overpowering everything out of fear. You know, fear is a big drive in our heart. If we're not careful to ask the Lord to examine our heart and for the Lord to help us guard our heart.

Fear, selfish ambition.

... this is about as far as I want to go right now.

It's like, yeah, trying to impress somebody? ...

... you can never do that. You can never please people all the time.

One thing I've learned in my life, if I would have depended on people to, what's it called? ___ for my confidence in what I do.

I'd still require that and I would always need it.

But because I didn't get it, I had to learn.

This has been 20 years ago. I had to learn to please God with unfeigned faith.

Study to show yourself approved.

Know what the Lord's telling you to do.

Hold on. Back out.

Change your mind

...when you want to do something.

And I've learned that sometimes even when you dance in the road like a chicken cuz you're so mad

at another person and what they're doing to you.

God even used that to teach me faith, unfeign faith.

I've learned, because of Christ in me, I didn't repay evil with evil.

I danced in the road.

But I was I was angry.

But in that anger God, was teaching me little bit by little bit who he is.

Now this is getting good because faith is not about what we do.

Faith is about who we know.

And life eternal is not dying to get there.

Jesus prayed for us to the father. He prayed,

"Lord, I don't pray you take them out of the world.

I pray that you protect them.

And I think it's John 17:3, he went on and he said,

"And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee, the only true and living God and know Jesus Christ, the son whom you sent." That's life eternal.

And he is our faith.

Knowing him is our faith.

When we know him and we want to please him and we want to honor him with all that we do. Whether I go to the trash dump, whether I go to the dollar store, whether I take a right turn or a left turn, we can't escape who God is,

He loves us, He is with us. And no matter how hard we would think we we can get away from his loving care, you can't you can't outrun God.

And why would you want to?

He is ever present in your life.

Acknowledging him is so much is such a blessing in life.

In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path.

Roll your works upon the Lord. Commit and trust them holy to him.

He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable with his will and thus your plans will be established and succeed.

This is my testimony.

Well, I'm not going to surf today, but we are getting some rain today and they're actually calling for a little bit of flooding.

So, my prayers are with everyone.

I've been feeling that today.

I've been from state to state,

Here in North Carolina and in West Virginia.

And um you know no matter what ... remember unfeigned faith.

There's a power in believing God.

There's a power ...

Jesus was sleeping on the boat right

The same Jesus

The same Jesus and the thing is I've seen God stop the rain.

I've seen God cause allow floods.

I've seen people see Christ through the destruction.

You see, because God works all things together for the good to them that love God according to the purpose in which we're called.

Are we going to trust God when when we want to give up?

Are we going to trust God when we we we think too much?

And I remember the flood in West Virginia when they took me up there showing me the flood damage and pointed all the way across the creek

...

and there was a broken tree that snapped and formed a cross and people saw that cross; and Jesus gave them hope and faith.

But God allowed them to see it.

You see, cuz this world, I don't think we're meant to be here forever.

I think this is our territory to learn to know God and to help others believe through our life.

I really believe that. Because I believe Jesus is coming again quickly one day.

I don't know when that'll be,

but I do know my life has a time on it.

I know that.

So does yours.

Everybody's does.

But in the end, there's a new earth.

There's a new heaven.

I happen to believe we'll live on a new earth because I think it's pretty cool and awesome and I believe God made us for it and it for us and made us from it, prepared it for us before we were even created.

And I believe Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is King.

And I believe one day we're going to walk in the perfection of the Garden of Eden again.

One day with God, restored through and by our faith in Jesus Christ. And so I hope this helps encourage one person to trust in the love God has for you to believe with unfeigned faith in the love God has for you.

His love for you is that he sent Jesus for you.

His love for you was demonstrated by Jesus going to the cross.

Jesus taking our sins for him was demonstrated when Jesus called out,

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

He could feel the separation from God that sin caused when he took yoursin, my sin, the sin of the world upon him.

He felt the the separation from God.

But at the same time, that veil was torn so we could be in restored relationship with God.

AndJesus teaches us to pray.

Now, think about this.

Doesn't it say we pray,

"Our Father,

which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

where?

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

... revelation from the Lord,

the word of God where Christ lifts it off the pages and gives you your instruction.

Give us this day our daily bread and lead us not into temptation.

...Notice that stumbling block.

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

I have other things on my mind, but we'll stop there. 26 minutes.

If you join me today, thank you.

I hope this encourages you.

I believe it will encourage me.

I'm just offering for everyone that wants to is willing to sit with Jesus a little while with me as I sit with Jesus a little while and learn from him.

Christ is the teacher.

Learning to walk with Jesus lesson by lesson.

One day at a time, one step at a time, one breath at a time, a little bit by a little bit.

You see, because like electric comes into your house.

It's a little bit at a time. It goes to each receptacle.

Unfeigned faith.

Faith is meant to grow, but not all at once.

I'll leave you by thinking how a seed grows.

The life is in the seed.

The life is in your unfeined faith in the word of God, the word of Christ.

Jesus is in the word.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God.

The word was God.

and the word was made flesh and

dwelt among us and

in him was life

and that life was the light of men.

The seed.

Watch the seeds grow and think about the seed of faith in your life.

The seed of believing.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And that seed is meant to grow a little bit by a little bit.

Faith by faith.

How much faith do you need?

The size of a mustard seed.

Little bit by little bit will grow into the size of a mustard tree.

Little bit by little bit.

This is kind of good. I'm about ready to shout now.

All right, we'll talk to you later.

I got to get on up the road. My truck's already warmed up.

You have a blessed day. Be safe and grow in your faith.

Message me in the comments a revelation, a scripture, something the Lord's told you. I'll guarantee you I will be encouraged by it and most likely I need to hear it and be reminded of it even if I know it.

The Lord brings to our remembrance what we need at just the right time.

Can't tell you how many times I might know a scripture, but when someone tells it to me or the Lord brings it back to my remembrance, it's exactly what I needed at the time.

God uses us to remind each other, encourage each other in the word daily because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And faith is meant to grow in our believing unfeigned faith.

The real faith, not fake faith.

Not just cuz it feels good.

Not just cuz you just got goosebumps.

I get that Holy Spirit electricity. I understand. But it's the Holy Spirit.

It's not just a feeling. It's not an outward thing. It's an inward thing.

It comes from inside.

All right. Have a good day. I think I've said bye three times now.

Adios, amigo.

And until next time, I don't speak Spanish. I hope that meant. Goodbye, my friend.

And until next time, we'll see you later.

Remember, God loves you and so do we.