Luke 19:1-9 (KJV) Says, "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw Him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured saying, that He was going to be a guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham."
Mark 2:2-5 (KJV) Says, "And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and He preached the word unto them. And they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of four. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
In the above passage of scripture taken from Luke, we are informed that Zaccheus was a chief tax collector who was not always ethical in his work. He had apparently heard about Jesus, and wanted to see for himself who this man was. Being short, he was unable to get a clear view because of the crowd surrounding him. Knowing that Jesus would soon be coming down the road, Zaccheus didn't give up and go home pouting, instead he devised another plan. He climbed up into a sycamore tree, and was able to get a good look at Jesus. To his surprise, as he draws near, Jesus tells him to come down from the tree because He is going to his house. The scripture indicates the excitement Zaccheus felt upon hearing that Jesus was coming to his house by telling us that he made haste coming down from the tree. He didn't just slowly get down as if the idea of Jesus coming to his house was not exciting, he came down quick. After visiting with the Lord Zaccheus tells Him that he will give half of all he has to the poor, and that any man he has wrongly taken from, he will pay back with four times what he took from them. Zaccheus had a divine appointment with Jesus that day, and the result of that appointment was Zaccheus accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He would have missed this divine appointment had he been one to quit.
We are told in the above passage of scripture taken from Luke that Jesus was preaching in the temple, and it was so crowded that it was impossible for anyone else to get in through the door. There came some men carrying their friend in his bed because he was unable to walk due to his suffering with palsy. When they saw they could not enter at the door to get to Jesus they devised a second plan. They climbed up on the roof, cut a hole in it, and lowered their friend down through the ceiling whereupon Jesus healed him. When these men recognized that there was no possible way for them to enter in at the door they did not quit. They came up with a way to hoist him onto the roof, cut a hole in it, and lower their friend down to Jesus. The result was that through faith, and determination their friend was healed.
These two passages of scripture contain examples of men that were persistent, determined, and who refused to quit. They faced obstacles that some would have automatically deemed insurmountable, and yet they refused to quit. It would have been far easier for Zaccheus to have given up, and started whining and complaining about being short, about people failing to notice that he couldn't see, and that he should have known that he'd never be able to see Jesus in a big crowd, but he didn't quit. It certainly would have been easier for the men carrying their friends bed to quit when they saw there was no way they could enter the temple with him through the door. They too could have whined and complained about how far they had carried that bed, how heavy it was, and what a waste of time it had been, but they didn't quit. Because they didn't quit, Zaccheus was born again, and became a new creature in Christ, and the man sick with the palsy was healed. What precious blessings they would have missed out on had any of these men simply quit.
Often times things worth having in life require us to go that extra mile, and to overcome obstacles that are in our way. What prevents most people from succeeding is their lack of persistence, and determination. The first obstacle they come to they begin whining, complaining, deeming the task impossible, and proclaiming they have no alternative except to quit. When we have a mission to accomplish, we must remember that with God all things are possible, and we must be determined, to see it through.
Are you a person who pushes forward through obstacles with determination to succeed? Or are you one to come upon the first obstacle and begin whining, complaining, blaming, and making excuses as to why you can't possibly complete the task at hand? I want to encourage you to never give up, be determined to succeed, have perseverance, and to remember that with God working through you all things are possible. I encourage you to set a good example for others in situations that seem insurmountable. When you are facing things that seem impossible, I urge you to remember who your God is, press forward, and never quit.
If you have a prayer request and would like me to pray for you, send me a message and I will be more than happy to do so. May God bless you.
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