THIS TIME, IT WILL BE DIFFERENT!

Have you been toiling and striving to no end? Do you not see the fruit of your hard work? If the answer is yes, then I have an encouraging word for you today. Striving is defined as struggling vigorously. It can be discouraging. Maybe you have been doing the same thing repeatedly and not seeing results because you know that God is the one who told you so. God wants you to know that this time, it will be different. You know, it can be quite frustrating to do something that you know God has called you to without seeing any result. But as long as you are following the leading of God nothing you do will be wasted.

A modern-day example is Tyler Perry. Before his plays ever gained any recognition, he tried repeatedly and failed. People would fail to show up for the plays after having spent money on booking the venue and setting the stage. I can only imagine how frustrated he must have felt. But he was obedient every time God told him to try again. Maybe you are going through this right now. And every time you hit a wall, you hear God telling you to try again! How do you keep believing when everything is telling you to stop?

Let us look at Peter’s story for a moment. He had been toiling all night trying to catch a fish to no avail. And then just when he had lost hope and given up, Jesus comes to the scene and tells him to try again. I bet he might not have wanted to. After all, he had done all he knew to do. But because Jesus asked him to try again, he obliged. Do you have an area where you have toiled and tried to get a breakthrough but it is not forthcoming? Have you given up on that dream that God gave you?

 Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus^[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. ⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. John 21:1-6

There are many reasons God will allow us to hit dead ends over and over again. So let us look at some of them for a second.

• God wants you to rely fully on Him and sometimes you could be hitting dead ends because you have not fully surrendered to Him. Maybe God is asking you to let go of control. He wants you to come to the realization that it is only Him who can do the impossible. Maybe you have been trying to do things with your own strength yet God wants you to depend on Him. You have to come to the end of yourself to experience the fullness of God and that is why God sometimes allows us to hit dead-end after dead-end.
• Could it be that God wants you to experience a heart transformation? What junk are you harboring in your heart? Jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, etc? Whatever it is, it could be the reason you are running around in circles. To give an example, Tyler Perry, in one of his interviews, stated that he received his breakthrough the minute he forgave his father for the pain and hurt he had caused him and his mother. So again, let me ask you this: do you know what is holding you back? When you have junk in your heart, you give the enemy a foothold in your life. And we all know the enemy does not play fair. Once he has access to your life, he will torment you in every area. So do not allow any sin to hold you back and cause you to run around in circles.
• Other times, maybe it is just not the right time. God is the creator of seasons and just like we experience the different weather seasons, God has ordained seasons for each one of us and there is always a destined time for you and my breakthrough. Our behavior and actions can delay the breakthrough sometimes. God operates in seasons and times. He will not have something happen before its time. That is why it took Jesus 30 years before He could be revealed to the world. God ensured it happened in the fullness of time. So let me ask you this, could it be that you are running around in circles because it is not yet God’s time? Could it be that you have been moving ahead of God? Every time you operate outside God’s will, you will always hit a dead end.

Anyway, back to my main point, just picture what Peter must have felt when Jesus told him to go back to the place he had experienced disappointment and try again. If you can relate, I want to encourage you with this, this time Jesus is with you. If He is asking you to do it again, it is because He wants to surprise you and bring healing. When Jesus takes us back to the places, we experienced the most disappointment; he aims to bring redemption and healing. And when He says this time, it will be different. He means it.

Jesus always wants you to experience full redemption and walk in the fullness He has for you. But sometimes He has to take you back to the place you experienced disappointment so that you can be set free. Jacob had to go back to his homeland to experience redemption and also freedom. When Jesus asked Peter to try again, He wanted to show him that He can restore the dead areas of his life. This is the same message that God has for you. He wants to restore you in that same place where you experienced disappointment in.

Maybe you have been unemployed for years and because of past disappointment, you have given up hope of ever applying for a job. And yet God is asking you to try again by reigniting that desire. Could it be that He is reigniting it because He wants you to experience redemption in that area? Could it be that the dream is not dead? It just wasn’t time for it to manifest. Just because it did not happen before does not mean that it cannot happen now. God is not limited and nothing is impossible with Him. He is Almighty and All Powerful. There can be no limits when it comes to God because He is overall.

God gave Abraham a child in his old age. The same promise that looked impossible, God made it possible. When God told Abraham that he would have a son the following year, Abraham did not believe it. But God still did it.

When Elisha told the Shunamite woman that she would have a child the following year, she had a difficult time believing it. She even voiced out her frustration saying that she did not have the strength to believe in it nor the desire to revive that dream. But she dared to believe again and it came to pass she was blessed with a son. The same is possible to you too. God wants you to know that this time it will be different. Don’t stop believing because God is the God of the impossible. He wants to bring restoration to your life and He wants to give you a new song in that place of your frustration.

Will you try again? You might lack the strength to keep pushing and it is okay. The power of God will sustain you in your weakness, you only need to yield to Him. He is taking you back to the grave so that He can resurrect that dead thing in your life.

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How then can you yield to Him?

The first step is to believe in Him and His goodness. Do you believe that God can resurrect the dead area in your life? Can you trust His leading even when it doesn’t look fruitful in the natural realm? It is time for you to trust again. Maybe you have given up on your dream. I encourage you to pick it up again. The Shunamite woman had hoped for a son for years and had given up on her dream, but when God came into the scene, she conceived and bore a son. God will never promise you something that He cannot fulfil. So do not fear trusting God again.

If you are having a hard time believing God, then read His word and allow His word to revive your faith and trust in Him. What you focus on is what you empower. Therefore, when you spend time in God’s word, your hope will be reignited and you will have the strength to believe again. Also the more you pray the more you gain the strength to believe God. So spend time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to help you when you feel like you lack the strength to try again.

The word of God never goes back to Him until it has accomplished everything it was sent out to do. The word of God brings healing and life to the dead areas in your life. So trust the leading of the Lord and when He tells you to try again, do it. Nothing is impossible with God.

Every miracle requires our participation. What do you need to do on your end to see the miracle come forth? Are there instructions given to you you have yet to do? It could be as simple as believing or actually doing something, but whatever it is, it is time for you to do it. God always wants to partner with you and me and when we are obedient to His instructions, He then does the impossible. You have to do what you can so that God can do what He can and wants to do. God will never do your part but when you partner with Him He will do His and you will see the miracle manifest and the dead thing come to life.

Conclusion

God is such a loving and wonderful Father who wants to bring healing and redemption to your life. Just like He healed Jacob’s heart when Jacob reunited with Joseph, He wants to do the same for you. All this He wants to do so that through your testimony, people can realize Him who is The resurrection. Let not your heart be troubled any longer. Go back to that place of disappointment and try again. The fact that you are not alone in this should give you the motivation you need to keep going. Keep going, God got you, and this time you will celebrate because you will see Him move on your behalf!

Hannah ignited her hope again. And it was when she did that that her desire was fulfilled. God wants you to experience the good things. The Bible even tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God and in Him, there is no shadow of shifting. So that desire you have, God wants to fulfill. But your faith is the key that will unlock your promise. You don’t have to live in that place of disappointment. The fact that the dream did not come to pass then does not mean that it will come to pass now. God has a grand plan for your life. And He is waiting for you to believe again and try again. He wants you to know that this time it will be different.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when the desire comes, it is a tree fulfilled. Proverbs 13:12