When I was a boy my father taught me one of the best faith-lessons I have ever learned. “Son, the hardest part of faith is always the last half hour. When you feel like giving up; when you feel that your life is off track; when you don’t hear from God anymore, just hold on — because the last half hour is the hardest part of faith.”

Have you ever driven on a long journey? You go hundreds of miles and the trip is going just fine. Finally you see a sign that says your destination is just 30 miles down the road. That last 30 miles can seem almost as long as the 500 miles you have just traveled. The last half hour of a journey is sometimes the hardest because you’re almost there and you have to hold on just a little longer.

“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36, ESV).

I know some of you feel like giving up but I want to encourage you to hold on just a little longer. You feel like the dream is not going to come to reality but God is saying to you, “Just hold on, child. Hold on, church. Hold on a few more minutes. Hold on a few more weeks — because your victory is just around the corner!”

I cannot tell you how many people I have met who had a word from God but the answer was slow in coming, they abandoned hope and now are living a life of mediocrity. If they had held on just a little longer, all the things God had spoken would have come true. But they have withdrawn from faith; withdrawn from valor; withdrawn from vision and purpose. They are living a life of quiet desperation because they no longer trust God or believe Him for great things. They are moving in their own strength without the power of God.

Do not give up hope. God is saving the best for last!