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NASB | Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God's absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, |
Bible Question:
Do any of you Bible teachers/pastors experience overwhelming discouragement and/or depression prior to you teaching/preaching? This has been an ongoing battle for me from the first of August when I truly believed the Lord wanted me to have a Bible study in my home. We are doing Beth Moore's study on the Fruit of the Spirit. Then last Frida, 3 days before the class, I developed a "sty" on my eyelid! I've never had one in my entire 57 yrs. of life! I'd appreciate honest answers and how you deal with this. I'm fully aware these are attacks of the enemy, but I can't seem to press through to victory. I end up cancelling the studies, which is so wrong, I know. |
Bible Answer: MrsBinGA - If misery loves company, perhaps this personal experience will brighten your day :-) ...... Over a span of more than a quarter century, I taught several Sunday school classes. Once I was asked to lead an adult class that was on the verge of becoming extinct. Attendance was down, enthusiasm was down, everything was down, down, down. My greatest fear was that some Sunday morning no one would show up. One rainy Sunday morning it almost happened. Besides me, only one couple showed up, a man and his wife. And the man happened to be, of all things, a psychiatrist! And how I appreciated his presence, because along about then I needed his services! Well, we somehow managed to pull through the ordeal all right. We kept the faith, we kept on praying, and we kept on working, and in time the class grew to become the second largest in the entire church. Some of the class members went out and taught other classes, and some of them became deacons and elders in the church. I like to think that in some way God used me in His work during this struggle, and I'm convinced He strengthened me to keep on keeping on when the going got tough. ..... Blessings to you, dear sister in Christ. Trust in the Lord and hang in there. --Hank |