2020 Daily Devotion - Day 77

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Abraham Lincoln was certainly one of our greatest presidents. He had an undeterred conviction that slavery was evil and must be stopped. He kept the nation together during one of our worst wars, the Civil War. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation, giving freedom for all who had been held in slavery. However, before these great and important moments, Lincoln saw tremendous failure.

He was born into poverty, and then for a great deal of his life, he experienced a number of setbacks:

· 1816: His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
· 1818: His mother died.
· 1831: He failed in business.
· 1832: He ran for state legislature – lost.
· 1832: He also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
· 1833: He borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
· 1834: He ran for state legislature again – won.
· 1835: He was engaged to be married, but his sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
· 1836: He had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
· 1838: He sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
· 1840: He sought to become elector – defeated.
· 1843: He ran for Congress – lost.
· 1846: He ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
· 1848: He ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
· 1849: He sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
· 1854: He ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
· 1856: He sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
· 1858: He ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
· 1860: He was elected president of the United States.

Most people would have given up early with these kinds of experiences. Too often, we throw in the towel too soon, when the key to doing something great is to “hang in there”; to keep on keeping on. We need to learn to be marathon runners and not sprinters.  This season of the Coronavirus can be a period of learning just exactly how to keep on keeping on. Read the encouragement of the Apostle Paul:

Romans 12:12 ESV
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, help us to learn to be people of endurance. Great things happen when we don’t give up. Help us to keep on keeping on through Your strength. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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