What Are You Waiting For?

DAY THIRTY SIX: Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Read Proverbs 13

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12 (NLT)


It was at Valley Forge, over 200 years ago, that the people of the United States proved that they had the courage to be a nation. Yet even though Valley Forge is known as a turning point in America's War for Independence, it was a time of battling the enemies of hunger, cold and despair.

It was at these plains in Pennsylvania after two disastrous defeats at the hands of the British, that General George Washington led his discouraged troops in retreat for the winter. As the winds blew across the camps, the temperatures dropped far below zero in one of the worst winters in history. Washington himself wrote: "There are men in camp unfit for duty, because they are barefoot and naked."

The soldiers lived in small huts built of logs and clay. Many sat up all night by the fire because there were not enough blankets. There was near famine - men went for weeks without meat. But Washington insisted on strict discipline for strength as he prayed to God to hold the army together and provide future victory.

When spring finally arrived they took count. One third of the army had died and another third had quit and gone home. The remaining third simply marched out and won the Revolutionary War - and the United States of America was born.

Action step for today: Refuse to give up on the hope that God is going to give you victory where you once suffered defeat.