Giving Up on Your Dream
Joshua 17:13
"Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out."
A troubling statement is made in the verse above when it says, "...but did not utterly drive them out." This is sad for the fact that they gave up on what was rightfully theirs. They gave up on something they worked so hard to obtain. They gave up on doing their best and settled for the second-best. They gave up on something that was given to them because something became too hard. These people had no business giving up. It doesn't matter what their excuse was, they were commanded by God to go and utterly drive out the people. When God gave them this task, He didn't say it would be easy. He simply expected them to follow through on His Word, and if they would have done so, their children would not have suffered the heartache from the Canaanites whom they did not drive out.
When God lays something on your heart to do, then you need to decide that no matter how hard it may be that you are going to conquer it. God did not give you a dream for you to let it fall by the wayside. God did not give you a dream to let it defeat you. When God gives you a dream, He also gives you the wherewithal to conquer that dream.
Don't let the difficulty of conquering your dream cause you to give up. Yes, these people saw that there were giants to conquer and decided to give up. If your dream wasn't difficult to obtain, then it wasn't much of a dream at all. There should be some difficulty in conquering a dream. That is part of what makes it a dream. Don't let the difficulty of obtaining your dream cause you to give up its realization.
Don't let your weariness be the thing that causes you to give up on conquering your dream. I know there are times when you simply get tired of fighting to see your dream come to pass; however, you cannot let your weariness stop you from realizing your dream. You must claim God's promise that He will give you the strength you need to see the dream come to reality. When you get weary in trying to conquer your dream, keep on going for the realization of that dream is near.
Furthermore, don't let the lure of settling for the second-best become your plight. Christian, if God gave you a dream, then don't stop until you get what He wants you to have. Certainly, God's second-best is always better than the best of the world, but God does not want you to settle for the second-best, He wants you to have the best. When the lure of settling for the second-best comes your way, you must decide that you will keep on going until you see the whole dream come to reality.
So, what is the impact of giving up on your dream? When you read about the history of Israel, you will find that many of these cities that they did not conquer became a snare of sin to their children and grandchildren. When you give up on your dream, you are affecting future generations. You must realize that your dream is not just for you, but it is for generations to come. The decision to give up on your dream will affect you, your children and your grandchildren.
I challenge you not to give up on your dream. I don't know what dream God placed in your heart, but whatever it is there is nothing that should stop you from seeing the realization of your dream. If you gave up on your dream, then right now you need pick it back up and start striving to see your dream come to pass. If you are considering giving up on your dream, don't do it! Keep going, for when your dream is realized you will thank God a thousand times over that you didn't give up. Your dream is worthy of not quitting, so keep going until you see your dream come to reality.