By Pastor Yomi OGUNTUWASE
(yomioguntuase@gmail.com, +447946506659)
Have you ever felt like giving up when you were closer to the finish line than you realized?
In 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California. She had already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. The weather was foggy and chilly; she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. She swam for fifteen hours. Numb and suffering, she finally asked to be taken out of the water.
When she was in the boat, she discovered she had stopped just one mile away from the California coast. The fog had blinded her. She later said, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land, I might have made it.”
Vision is the ability to see. If you cannot see your goal, your future, or your promise, you will likely give up when exhaustion sets in.
The Vision Overcomes Exhaustion. In 1 Samuel 30, David faced a worse situation than a cold ocean. He returned home to find his city burned and his family kidnapped.
“Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?” And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” (1 Samuel 30:8 NLT)
David started with 600 men. But when they reached the Brook Besor, 200 of them stopped. The Bible says they were “too exhausted” to cross. Why did 400 keep going while 200 stopped? They were all tired. The difference was Vision. The 200 saw only the brook and their tired legs. David saw the promise: “You will surely recover.”
Don’t Miss Your Destiny Helper. When you are in a crisis, it is easy to become selfish and focused only on your pain. But look at what David did next.
“Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field… They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.” (1 Samuel 30:11)
David was in a high-speed chase to save his family, yet he stopped to feed a dying slave. This seemed like a distraction, but it was actually the solution. The slave knew exactly where the raiders were hiding.
If you don’t give up, you will find people who will help you. But often, you must first sow a seed of kindness. If David had ignored the “distraction,” he might never have found the raiders.
The Promise of Recovery. David followed the slave’s directions and found the enemy celebrating.
“David got back everything the Amalekites had taken… Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, spoil or anything that they had taken. David recovered all.” (1 Samuel 30:18-19)
In life, raiders will come. Exhaustion will come. The “fog” will try to hide the shoreline. But do not believe the raiders, and do not believe the fog.
Some people fail to recover not because the devil is too strong, but because their discouragement is too deep. Keep your eyes on the vision God gave you. Just like Florence Chadwick, who came back two months later and swam that same channel—fog and all—because she kept a picture of the shoreline in her mind.
You will surely recover all.
*Oguntuwase, a nutritionist and a reflexologist, is a Pastor of Christ in Me Ministry, Windsor UK.
