I watched a local football match in a school playing ground. As I sat down, I asked one of the boys what the score was. With a smile, he replied; “They are leading us 3-0”. and I said, REALLY!
I have to say you don’t look discouraged. Discouraged, the boy asked with a puzzled look. Why on earth should I be discouraged when the referee has not blown the final whistle? I have confidence in the team and the managers; we shall overcome.
The match ended 5-4 in favor of the boy’s team. The boy waved at me gently, with a beautiful smile as he left. I was amazed, mouth wide open. Such confidence, such beautiful faith.
As I got back home that night, his question kept coming back to me,
“Why should I be discouraged when the referee has not blown the final whistle?”
Life is like a game. Why should you be discouraged when the almighty God is your manager? Why should you be discouraged, whilst there’s still life? Why should you be discouraged when your final whistle has not sounded?
The truth is that many people blow the final whistle themselves, but as long as there is life, nothing is impossible and it is never too late for you. Halftime is not full-time and God’s calendar for your life is not man’s calendar. However, everyone needs a bit of encouragement from time to time. Thankfully we have the Bible as our ultimate source of encouragement!
Let your heart be captivated as you go through these encouraging quotes that inspired us:
- “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – (2 Corinthians 4:18)
- “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom
- “Forgiveness is the fragrance the flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it.” – David Jeremiah
- “Love covers a multitude of sins. So loving the unlovely and moving in love gives us strength, power, and victory.” – Unknown
- “Waiting on God builds spiritual muscles. This transforms us, develops our character, and deepens our relationship with God.” – Unknown
- “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” – Augustine
- “Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” – Bernard Branson
- “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” – John Wesley
- “The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.” – Billy Graham
- “We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.” – Max Lucado
- “Your potential is the sum of all the possibilities God has for your life.” – Charles Stanley
- “The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
- “Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us—a crucified God—must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.” – John Piper
- “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” – Francis Chan
- “Let God’s promises shine on your problems.” – Corrie ten Boom
- “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
- “Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.” – Elisabeth Elliot
- “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “This is our time on the history line of God. This is it. What will we do with the one deep exhale of God on this earth? For we are but a vapor and we have to make it count. We’re on. Direct us, Lord, and get us on our feet.” –Beth Moore
- “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” –Chuck Swindoll
- “The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.” – Billy Graham
- “You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read.” – John MacArthur
- “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” – Deuteronomy 7:9
- “He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.” – Randy Alcorn
- “God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- “There is no one who is insignificant in the purpose of God.” – Alistair Begg
- “Relying on God has to start all over every day as if nothing has yet been done.” – C. S. Lewis
- “Always, everywhere God is present, and always He seeks to discover Himself to each one.” – A.W.Tozer
- “His grace is cheapened when you think that He has only forgiven you of your sins up to the time you got saved, and after that point, you have to depend on your confession of sins to be forgiven. God’s forgiveness is not given in installments.” – Joseph Prince,
- “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” – Augustine
- “God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.” – Max Lucado
- “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” – The Holy, Mark 9:23 (KJV)
- “God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.” – Tony Evans
- “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill
- “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” – John Piper
- “Christ literally walked in our shoes.” – Tim Keller
- “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliot
- “Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us — a crucified God—must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.” – John Piper,
- “If you can’t fly, then run, If you can’t run, then walk, If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look ‘little’ or ‘big’.” – Elisabeth Elliot
- “As long as you do things for God, you are a Hall of Famer on heaven’s list.” – Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
Pastor Rick Warren wrote that when he feasts on the Word of God, he feels even hungrier for the presence of the Lord.
We don’t need temporary pleasures that bring only momentary satisfaction. Keep your eyes on that ultimate prize of heaven, eternity, paradise! Don’t lose heart – Jesus is making you new!BE ENCOURAGED! DON’T GIVE UP.
