In this final part of the series, “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”, I want to focus on the third month of our 90-Day Journey. The first month of this journey was about intimacy. In month two, the warfare became intense, and then there was month three, which was about perseverance.

Perseverance was required to stay committed to prayer and communion two hours each day, especially day 60 through 90! The last leg of a trip is when weariness tends to set in. Additionally, those who were faithful to the challenge had to contend to keep the passion and not get ritualistic.

It is easy to stay committed and pray when you “feel” like it, when you “sense” the presence of God, and when you can clearly hear His voice and are witnessing your prayers being answered.

Perseverance is needed when God SEEMS to be absent and SEEMS to be silent! Scripture tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) While I know that to be true, there have been times I have found myself asking, “Where are you?”

A very familiar scripture found in Galatians 6:9 AMP reads:

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

Let me tell you two of the greatest enemies in this season….doubt and disappointment.

When you are in a season where you have been believing and standing in faith for a long time, and your answer has not yet manifested, it is tempting to begin to question if you really heard from God, or if this commitment is really worth it.

In some situations, the risk of disappointment is so great that people give into hopelessness instead of standing in faith. In these times, you must contend!

David shows a great example of perseverance when he was running for his life. An interesting part of this story is found in 1 Samuel 21: 1-9. Let me summarize it for you.

David and a few men who ran with him left with nothing but the clothes on their backs as they ran for their lives when Saul decided to kill him. David went to the temple, and found the priest and asks if there is anything to eat. The only thing that was there to eat was the Bread of Presence, and the priest gave it to them for nourishment. Then David asked the priest if there was a weapon, because he left without one. Look at the priest’s response in verse 9:

“Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.” 1 Samuel 21:9 NASU

David was certainly not a perfect man. In fact, he wasn’t totally honest with the priest in this very story. However, David was a chosen man with a mighty destiny, and I personally believe it was that call on his life that made him a target to all his enemies.

This story so relates to the 90-Day journey I have shared about in this series. David is persevering, running for his life, with only the clothes on his back, and he chooses to run to the temple. He is nourished by the bread of presence, which is very closely related to our first month of our 90-Day journey where the focus was on relationship with God’s presence.

In this place, David was reminded of his greatest victory when he defeated Goliath. David was also now armed with a sword that originally belonged to a giant. I suppose that it was huge…..but now in this place of perseverance, in the presence, David is equipped with a weapon that should be too heavy for him. I feel it was his journey….first in relationship, his contending in warfare, and his perseverance that brought him to this place where there was a new anointing, a new empowerment for him. He developed character that would take him through this difficult season and eventually become the king.

David went to the temple.

1. He received nourishment.
2. He received encouragement being reminded of his greatest victory.
3. He received equipping with a weapon to fight in the next season.

We can go to the cross.

1. We receive salvation, healing, and provision.
2. We receive encouragement to be victorious through every season of life.
3. We receive equipping with the armor of God to withstand all the wiles of the enemy.

As I close this series on “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”, let me remind you that we are living in a unique time. I believe any moment the trumpet could sound and we who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior will be out of here.

In the meantime, as the world gets darker, we the church must become a beacon of light. The Word from the Lord I shared in part one said that we are to be His hands, His feet, and His mouthpiece in these final hours.

How are we equipped to do that? Be spending time in His presence in close proximity to the cross. Yes, the cross purchased your salvation, but there is so much more available to us through Christ’s sacrifice. We can live victoriously during every season we face, and we can be territory takers for the kingdom.