6th July 2006- Breaking out of the cycle of Weariness

Look Up!
By Kenneth Copeland

Look up...because in times like these, your very life may depend on it.

Some time ago, the Lord showed me that a spirit of weariness is trying to work its way into our lives these days through all the pressure and bad news that surrounds us. It's working to get our eyes off the Word of God by bombarding us with negative forces. It's trying to get us to look down at defeat instead of up at Jesus.

If you let that happen, your spirit man will begin to lose his dominion. And the Word tells us what the results of that is. It says you will "be wearied and faint in your minds."

Jesus put it this way in Mark 4. He said that when the cares of this world enter into your heart and mind, they'll choke the Word and cause it to become unfruitful. And since your faith is the product of the Word, that means your faith will wither. Once that happens, you're headed for disaster.

What can you do to stop this chain reaction of weariness?

Look up! Get your eyes back on Jesus. I remember on the field of athletic competition that when an opponent allowed himself to drop his head, he was no longer dangerous. He could be very easily defeated. So keep your head up. Keep considering Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. Consider Him instead of the cares of this world. Consider what God says in His Word. Be moved by the thoughts of God. Let His thoughts become your thoughts.

Look up! Get your eyes off the circumstances around you and onto your heavenly source. Don't be afraid you're going to lose everything. God is your Source, not the world. He can take care of you regardless of what happens around you.

If you've gotten weary lately, begin to lift your eyes. Raise your head up instead of looking down. God is up. Jesus is up. The devil is down--under your feet. Look up!

• Point to Ponder: If you look down at defeat instead of up at Jesus, your spirit man will begin to lose his dominion and you will "be wearied and faint in your minds."

• Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31

• Verse: Consider [Jesus] that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:3)

• What you can do about this: Consider Him instead of the cares of this world. Consider what God says in His Word. Be moved by the thoughts of God. Let His thoughts become your thoughts.

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Scripture Reading ( Isaiah 40:21-31):

40:21
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
40:22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
40:23
He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
40:24
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
40:25
"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
40:26
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
40:27
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God"?
40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
40:29
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
40:30
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
40:31
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

New International Version

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