Keep Moving When it doesn’t Look Good

Intro:

This morning, we are jumping into part 3 of our series Lessons from the Wild. Over the past two weeks I challenged you to:

Climb the mountain and harness the mind. We have the capacity to overcome life’s challenges and reach our divine purpose. To do it, we must reject the desire for ease and harness our minds through God’s promises, presence, and perseverance—reframing difficult "mountains" as necessary opportunities for growth rather than burdens to avoid.

Take the Shot, You can’t be afraid to fail. True growth and spiritual revelation require stepping out in faith beyond our comfort zones, even when fear or the possibility of missing the mark makes us hesitant. Failure in these moments is not a defeat, but a necessary step that teaches us, refines us, and keeps us dependent on God's hand as we step into the unfamiliar.

Today, I want to share a message with you titled “Keep moving when it doesn’t look good.”

The Story:

When you hunt, there are many times when you will prepare yourself with all the necessary equipment. You scout an area, determine a course of direction, and set out with the expectation to find something.

What you find out is that even though an area looks promising or has the right type of habitat, you can hike and hike and not find what you are looking for. In these moments, thoughts of frustration can creep in, along with the desire to give up and go back to the truck.

You see endless hills, and it can begin to seem pointless or impossible to find what you are looking for. When you find yourself in this type of scenario, and it’s not looking good, what do you do? Keep moving forward; a breakthrough may be over the next ridge.

The reality of the pursuit is that each hike presents opportunities to learn something new. The land, new spots to glass from, you can look for sign on the ground to see if it’s an area that is active or not, you find your personal limitations, and where you need to grow.

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Submit:

Throughout our lives, we will find ourselves in moments or seasons that don’t look good. Things aren’t happening the way we thought they would. We are facing more resistance than expected. It seems like the breakthrough is never going to come.

The climb is harder than we expected. We begin to see the gap between where we are and where we want to be, along with the growth required to reach the next place.

How do we keep moving? Faith, Hope, and Perseverance.

The bible is filled with biblical stories that powerfully illustrate how faith sustains people through circumstances that appear hopeless.

Gen. 22:1-19. Abraham’s willingness to journey toward an uncertain destination. Followed by radical trust despite circumstances that contradicted God’s promises. (Radical Trust)

Gen. 50:15-21. Joseph’s adversity, betrayal, and injustice were used by God for good. (Faithfulness)

Exodus 14. The Israelites were pursued by the Egyptian army after leaving Egypt. Surrounded at the Red Sea, they were instructed to move forward. God demonstrates His power. (Obedience)

Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship an idol despite facing execution in a fiery furnace. (principled living)

Daniel 6. Daniel continued praying to God even after a decree made it punishable by death. He chose truth and consistency over surrendering his convictions out of fear. (living with conviction)

Habakkuk 3:17-19. He makes a declaration that despite crop failure, he would rejoice in the Lord because the Lord is his strength. Circumstances don’t change God’s character. (Grounded Joy)

These stories model perseverance rooted not in optimism about external conditions, but in trust that God works toward redemption even when the present moment looks bleak.

In each of these stories, they had to move forward, and as a result, we can observe that breakthrough was indeed on the other side.

For Abraham, God provided a ram. For Joseph, God faithfully fulfilled His promise. For Israel, God supernaturally parted the sea and destroyed the armies of Egypt. For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, God stepped into the fire and delivered them. For Daniel, God stopped the mouths of lions. For Habakkuk, Joy proved greater than circumstances.

Moving forward through difficulty means shifting your focus from what you see to what you trust about God’s nature and purposes.

What we also observe in these stories is that the man who is faith-filled, obedient to the word, lives principled, rooted in biblical conviction, and undergirded with Joy can endure any adverse circumstance that wants to derail you.

The underlying principle is the understanding that God remains in control and will work every situation out in our lives for His glory.

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Apply:

Perseverance is about —> Maturing in Christ.

Maturity keeps you moving forward. Immaturity causes you to quit and turn back.

Maturity in Christ involves fulfilling your intended purpose—becoming complete and whole with nothing lacking. It is progressive transformation.

This transformation of maturity shapes your intellect, emotions, desires, will, and actions to display an accurate image of who you are in Christ, testifying to your Creator, Redeemer, and Healer.

At its core, spiritual maturity means training your senses to discern good and evil so you can behave like Christ. It’s not measured by what’s absent from your life, but by how Christlike you’ve become.

This is why being effective and fruitful in knowledge of the Lord Jesus is the essence of spiritual maturity. You’re not aiming for perfection in this life, but for consistent movement toward Christ-likeness that increasingly shapes every dimension of who you are.

Finally, spiritual maturity results in growth and unity in the body of Christ, where your gifts and talents are used for God’s purposes and the edification (building up) of the church.

Passages like 2 Peter 1:5–8 help us see the process.

2 Peter 1:5-8 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Passages like 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-19 help us to see the principle and develop spiritual conviction.

1 Peter 1:3–9 “Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (This is the bedrock of trust that strengthens our resolve).

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. (the principle- you know what trials are producing and you desire the outcome more than comfort)

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. (The bedrock of Joy - The hope we have in Christ in the salvation of our souls)

1 Peter 1:13-19 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (the application of maturity and perseverance)

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (The root of personal conviction. Maturity grasps what it carries)

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Closing:

The path forward involves consistent spiritual disciplines. Maturity requires perseverance in practices that draw you closer to God—Bible reading and study, prayer, fellowship, service, and stewardship.

While each of these is critical to maturity, none of the disciplines will be successful without the Holy Spirit’s enabling; you must learn to “walk by the Spirit” step by step under His instruction. John 16:13–14.

John 16:13-14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

As you increasingly submit to the Spirit’s control, the fruit of the Spirit grows in your life. Galatians 5:22–23

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Spiritual maturity isn’t about instant perfection; it’s about persistent movement toward Christ. When you anchor your life in God’s sovereignty, submit daily to the Holy Spirit, and choose active faith over your current circumstances, you learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

The key is to stop relying on your own strength. Look to the Lord in every circumstance, trust His character, and let your hope drive you forward into His mission. Your maturity deepens as you repeatedly choose to believe and hope, transforming how you respond to adversity.

He isn't asking for perfection today; He is inviting you to walk with Him and keep moving when it doesn’t look good.

Let’s Pray!

Lord, help us to become a people rooted in joy who are filled with radical trust and biblical conviction. Help us to keep moving when it doesn’t look good.

Salvation.