Faith for Hard Seasons

What's the Point?

When You've Already Given Up in Your Heart — Perseverance When Nothing Has Changed

A Teaching by Pastor Nicole Washington

Part One: When You Stay But You've Already Left

There is a particular moment I want to talk about. It's not the moment you walk away. It's the moment before that — the moment you've already given up in your heart but you're still going through the motions. You're still showing up. You're still doing the things. You're still saying the prayers. But inside, you've already quit. Because nothing has changed. You've prayed the prayers, you've stood on the promises, you've declared the Word, you've fasted, you've believed, you've fought — and the situation is exactly the same as it was. And you're asking yourself: what's the point?

If that's you — if you're still standing but your heart already sat down — this teaching is for you.

Having Done All, Stand

Ephesians 6:13 says: "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Having done all — when you've done everything you know to do, when you've exhausted every strategy, when you've prayed every prayer you know how to pray — the next instruction is not "do more." It's "stand." Just stand. Don't quit. Don't walk away. Don't let go. Stand.

Part Two: Abraham — He Believed When There Was Nothing to Believe

Romans 4:18-21 describes Abraham's faith: "Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken... And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."

Abraham had every reason to give up. His body was dead. Sarah's womb was dead. The promise was impossible. And yet he believed — not because the circumstances supported belief, but because the One who promised was faithful. He considered not his own body. He refused to look at the evidence against the promise. He looked instead at the God who made the promise. And that is the key: when the point of standing is invisible to your natural eyes, you've got to look at the Promiser, not the promise.

Habakkuk — Worship When There's Nothing Left

Habakkuk 3:17-19 says: "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls — yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills."

Habakkuk listed everything that could go wrong — and everything had gone wrong. No figs. No fruit. No olives. No food. No flock. No herd. The entire economy of his life was collapsed. And then he said: yet. Yet I will rejoice. Yet I will joy in the God of my salvation. The "yet" is the pivot point. The "yet" is what turns despair into worship. The "yet" is the point.

Part Three: The Point Is the Stand

Here is what I want you to understand: the point is not the outcome you can see right now. The point is the stand. The point is that you didn't quit. The point is that when everything in the natural said "give up," you stayed. The point is that your faith didn't depend on the fig tree blooming — it depended on the God who made the fig tree.

When you stand in the evil day — when you've done all and you're still standing — you are doing something in the spirit that you cannot see in the natural. You are refusing to let the enemy have the final word. You are declaring, with your posture if not your feelings, that God is still God. And that stand is not wasted. It is not pointless. It is the most powerful thing you can do.

What God Was Teaching Me

God was teaching me that the point is not the outcome I can see — the point is the stand. He was showing me Abraham, who believed when there was nothing in the natural to support belief, and Habakkuk, who worshiped when every economic indicator of his life said God had abandoned him. And He was reminding me that "having done all, stand" is not a consolation prize — it is the assignment. The stand is the point.

For Your Study

Scripture References

Ephesians 6:13 — "Having done all, to stand."
Romans 4:18-21 — Abraham believed contrary to hope, not considering his dead body or Sarah's dead womb.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 — "Though the fig tree does not blossom... yet I will rejoice in the Lord."
Galatians 6:9 — "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Hebrews 10:35-36 — "Do not cast away your confidence... you have need of endurance."
James 1:2-4 — Count it all joy when you fall into trials — the testing of your faith produces patience.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 — Though outwardly wasting away, inwardly renewed — we fix our eyes not on what is seen.

Discussion Questions

Have you ever reached the point where you asked "what's the point?" What brought you there?
Ephesians 6:13 says "having done all, stand." What does it mean to just stand when you've done everything?
Abraham didn't consider his dead body or Sarah's dead womb. What "dead" circumstances are you looking at instead of the Promiser?
Habakkuk listed everything that collapsed, then said "yet." What is your "yet"?
How is the stand itself the point, even when the outcome hasn't changed yet?
What is the difference between giving up in your heart while still going through the motions, and truly standing in faith?
What would it look like for you to worship — like Habakkuk — while the figs are still not blossoming?

A Prayer

Father, I'm still here — but my heart is tired. I've prayed, I've believed, I've stood, I've fought — and nothing looks different. I've asked myself what the point is more times than I can count. But today I choose to stand. Not because I see the outcome, but because You are the God who promised. Like Abraham, I will not consider the deadness of the situation — I will consider You. Like Habakkuk, though everything in my life says the promise failed, yet I will rejoice in You. The point is the stand. And I am still standing. Strengthen my knees. Renew my heart. Let me not grow weary. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Declarations

I declare: Having done all, I stand — and the stand is the assignment.
I declare: I will not consider my dead circumstances; I will consider the living God.
I declare: Though the fig tree does not blossom, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
I declare: I will not grow weary in doing good — in due season I will reap.
I declare: My faith is not in the outcome I can see; it is in the God who promised.
I declare: The point is not what I get from standing — the point is that I stood.
I declare: God is making my feet like deer's feet — I will walk on my high hills.

If you have been standing so long that you've started to ask what the point is, you are not alone. Abraham waited 25 years. Habakkuk worshipped in a famine. The stand is not failure — it is faith. But don't stand alone. Reach out to someone who can stand with you — a pastor, a prayer partner, a trusted friend who will hold your arms up until the answer comes.

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What's the Point?

Part One: When You Stay But You've Already Left

Part Two: Abraham — He Believed When There Was Nothing to Believe

Habakkuk — Worship When There's Nothing Left

Part Three: The Point Is the Stand

For Your Study

Scripture References

Discussion Questions

A Prayer

Declarations

Continue Your Journey

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Pray Through This

Speak This Truth

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