Maybe you are at the point today. It could be work, family, health, financial, or any number of things that have drained you. That’s when we begin to question & doubt everything. We feel like we are alone and…hopeless. I’ve been there many times.

Here are a couple of things that have kept me from spiraling down the drainpipe of life.

I don’t remember the occasion, but his words still linger in my heart. “Robert, if you don’t have something to get up for, one morning you won’t.” My dad lived those words. I witnessed him go through the trials of farming, multiple serious illnesses, and financial heartache, yet he would refocus and find the purpose. The older I get the more I have come to know this quiet giant.

There are several Biblical giants. One was with Joshua when God gave him a one-on-one coaching session just before crossing into the Promises Land. He told Joshua to be strong & courageous. Then God addressed how difficult His assignment was going to be, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Just as God knew Joshua and He knows you & me. He knows we will face fear & discouragement. We will be faced with failure & hopelessness. This has been when I have experienced God in a unique way. It’s the quiet, still of His Presence. This is what God promised Joshua and you and me. Let His promise linger in your heart. “…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” It was not Joshua’s strength or ours but God’s we are to depend on… to call on.

Another Biblical giant that finished strong was Paul. How could Paul keep going? “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-26) Oh my! Paul gave us this list not to brag but for us to know how impossible life is without Jesus.

How did Paul adjust his focus? How did he keep from saying, “enough is enough.”? In Philippians 3:14, we find his difference maker. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” His purpose was bigger than his pain.

If you need a refocus let me recommend Jesus. He has never let me down. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Jesus, I need you!