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Hello, hello! Welcome to The Dona Watson Show.
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I'm your host, Dona Watson.
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Do not quit.
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If you have been in a tough place lately and you've been discouraged, I want to encourage you today to not give up.
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I was in my quiet time this week And the Lord kept bringing this message up again and again.
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He likes to reach out to us in ways that He knows we will hear Him.
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He doesn't make it difficult to hear His voice.
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If you're receiving this right now, it's because God has a message for you that He wants you to stay strong.
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To reinforce that, I want to give you five scriptures today from the Bible that encourage you to not give up.
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The first one is Galatians 6: 9, which talks about the promise of harvest.
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It says, "Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
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You see, perseverance has a promised reward.
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And when you stay faithful, your efforts are not wasted.
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Don't let the enemy wear you out with distractions and chaos.
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Keep your eyes fixed on the prize that God has promised you, and that is a life of abundance and joy.
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This is your call to bolster your courage and to stand firm.
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Watch your self -talk.
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Encourage yourself with good words and scripture and set your mind on God and your heart on worship.
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This is how we fight the good fight.
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This is how we hold our ground and this is how we w in.
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The second scripture is Isaiah 40: 31, which talks to us about renewed strength.
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It says, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
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They will soar on wings like eagles.
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They will run and not grow weary.
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They will walk and not be faint."
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You don't have to do this life or your assignment in your own strength.
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How great is that?
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You see, when you feel depleted, God will provide you with supernatural strength to continue.
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That is his promise to you from this scripture.
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So rest in him, rely on his strength, and take joy in life.
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Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life.
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You will fill me with joy in your presence and with eternal pleasures at your right hand." There is fullness of joy in God's presence.
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Nehemiah 8.10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
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So if there's fullness of joy in God's presence and his joy is our strength, when we stand with him and we press into that quiet secret place, we can grab that full measure of joy and strength and keep going.
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Do not quit.
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The third scripture is Philippians 4:13, and it talks to us about divine empowerment.
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It says, "I can do all things through him who gives me strength."
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What a comfort it is to know that our abilities are not limited to our own capacity.
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Let me explain.
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When we stand in the strength that comes from staying close to God, the strength that raised Jesus Christ from the dead makes the impossible possible.
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The Word says that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit if you have given your life to God.
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His Spirit dwells in you.
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That means that His strength also dwells in you.
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And when you get to the end of your rope, that is simply a reminder to turn the reins over to God.
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Remember that in him you are strong.
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If you aren't feeling that today, I encourage you to remind yourself the strength that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you.
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You are strong through the power of God.
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Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for you so that you can stand strong against any attack that the enemy would throw at you.
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You do not have to succumb to the enemy's attacks.
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In the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
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Our fourth scripture is 1 Corinthians 15: 58, which talks to us about a steadfast purpose.
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It says, "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
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Let nothing move you.
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Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
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This scripture tells us that we have a choice.
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We can choose to give up or we can choose to not quit.
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Today, I encourage you to press into your secret place with God.
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Seek him out, talk to him, and invite him into every area of your life.
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Find that godly strength inside, and then stay immovable in your purpose.
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Don't let the enemy lie to you and say that you are nothing, that you are small, that you do not have an important role to play in God's kingdom.
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Your work for God's kingdom always has eternal value, whether that is to spend time in your prayer closet praying for others or to encourage your neighbors.
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You might be the only friendly face that they see today.
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You are important, and so is your role in God's kingdom.
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Our fifth verse is Hebrews 12:1-2, and it talks about running the race.
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It says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus."
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You are not alone in your struggles.
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Focus on Jesus, shed what weighs you down, and keep running that race that is so unique to you, your beautiful life.
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The enemy would love for all of those who believe in Christ Jesus to be isolated, lonely, and alone.
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But you are not alone.
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Not only is the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, but spiritually, you are standing shoulder to shoulder with all of God's other warriors on this spiritual battlefield.
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The battles that we face are not seen, and the enemy would like to reduce your mindset to only include what you can see.
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But like when Elijah prayed that God would open the eyes of his servants so that he could see the angelic army that God had surrounded them with, that army that assured them the victory, I pray today that God will open your eyes and that you will see his glory and that you will recognize the Holy Spirit within you and that you will sense, maybe even see the angels of God that surround you, protecting you and encouraging you daily.
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You're not alone.
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You're in really good company.
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So in conclusion, I want to also say that God is doing something new.
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Isaiah 43: 18 and 19 says, "Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old.
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Look, I'm about to do something new; even now it is coming.
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Do you not see it?
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Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."
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You see, my friend, the Lord is calling us to release the past.
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Release those times when you slipped and fell.
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God stands ready to forgive you.
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Release those times when people hurt you.
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It's time to forgive them and move on.
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Release past sorrows, knowing that God has a brighter future in store for you.
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Release any longing for the past and look to the future to hopeful opportunities that God has waiting for you.
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The time is now, my friend.
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God is calling his church together.
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He's calling his bride to look up and to be all that she was created to be.
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And that is you.
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God is calling you to be a spiritual warrior.
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That doesn't mean that we are argumentative.
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It's not that kind of a warrior.
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It calls us to recognize the truth of Ephesians 6:12--"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
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Like it or not, my friend, we are at war.
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We are in the spiritual battle of our lives, in fact.
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But the way that we fight back is with the truth of the scriptures in the Bible.
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We fight back by renewing our mind into a better mindset that doesn't say that we are failures, but that says: "I can do all things through God who strengthens me." We fight back by staying the course and not giving up, by knowing that we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
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That is my message for you today.
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Let me pray for you.
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Dear Lord, I come before you right now and I pray that you would move on the hearts of every person who is hearing this, reading it, watching it right now in the name of Jesus.
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I pray that you would bolster their courage.
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I pray that you would help them to step into their role as a spiritual warrior who achieves the victory in God's kingdom and lives the life of fullness and joy that you have called us to, that you will help them win in that way.
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Bless them, Lord, in the name of Jesus.
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I pray in Jesus' holy name.
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Amen.
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I also want to make available to you a copy of my book, "Be the Warrior Queen, Practical Christian Strategies for Women to Achieve Victory in a Chaotic World." I'm currently making this book available to you in paperback for just the price of shipping and handling.
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I want that to be my gift to you.
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And if you buy through the link in the show notes below, you will also get a free e-book called "Book of Prayers, 31 Scripture-Based Prayers for Spiritual Warfare." These are scripture-based prayers that I put together.
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You can only get it here from me at this link.
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And you'll get it free if you order at that link.
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Other than that, I love you guys.
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May God bless you and fill you with his joy and purpose today.
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Until next time.
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If you loved this, please give it a like or thumbs up or leave a comment with your thoughts.
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I love to hear from you and your comments help me to know what topics you'd like to see me cover.
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For more information on my books and other projects, visit my website at DonaWatson.com or my Sub stack at donawatson.substack.com.