You’re Closer Than You Think

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"A 17-year-old girl walks onto a college campus for the

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very first time. But here's the thing: she's never been to

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school. Not even once

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no kindergarten, no middle school, no high school, nothing.

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Tara Westover grew up in the mountains of rural Idaho in a

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survivalist family that didn't believe in formal education. She

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taught herself enough to take the ACT and somehow got accepted

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to Brigham Young University. It was a miracle just to get there.

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But that first semester, she sat in classrooms completely lost.

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Her classmates talked about things she'd never heard of.

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Every single day, she felt humiliated and out of place,

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like she didn't belong. She was this close to packing her bags

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and going back to the mountains where life made sense. She

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thought, "This was a mistake. I'm not smart enough. I should

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just quit."

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger and

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today we're talking about those moments when everything in you

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wants to give up, walk away, or just quit right before something

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amazing is just about to happen, that moment when you're

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exhausted and when nothing seems to be working. But sometimes

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you're closer to your breakthrough than you think.

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36 says, "Patient endurance is what you need now,

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so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will

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receive all that he has promised." And in Galatians 6: 9,

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the apostle Paul writes, "So let's not get tired of doing

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what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of

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blessing if we don't give up." Alleluia says, "Good. Both

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passages show us something powerful. The blessing often

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comes right after the moment we're most tempted to quit. Have

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you ever noticed how close the finish line can be when you feel

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the most exhausted? Maybe you're in a season right now where

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you've been pouring into something. You've been praying

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for a ministry, a career, your education, or maybe your health,

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and you're just not seeing results. You've prayed, and

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you've worked, and you've trusted, and you're tired. For

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some of you, the thought has crossed your mind more than once.

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Maybe I'm not cut out for this. Maybe this wasn't God's plan

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after all. Maybe I should just quit. You know, that's exactly

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where the enemy wants you. Because he knows something you

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might not see yet. You're closer than you might think. Think

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about it. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for

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40 years. And some of them never made it to the Promised Land.

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Not because it didn't exist, but because they give up too soon.

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They complained, they doubted, and they wanted to go back to

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Egypt. And they died within sight of the very thing God had

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promised them. What if the breakthrough you've been praying

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for is just on the other side of this hard season? What if the

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answer is one more prayer away? Maybe one more day of

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faithfulness and one more step of obedience? Patient endurance.

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That's what Hebrews 10: 36 calls it. Not passive waiting, but

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active, faithful persistence, even when you can't see the

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results yet. It's continuing to do God's will even when it's

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hard, even when you're tired, and even when it feels like

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nothing is happening. Because here's the truth: God's timing

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is not our timing. But I want to tell you this: His timing is

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always perfect. And sometimes the very moment we want to quit

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is the exact moment God is about to move. This is where Tara's

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story turns. She didn't quit. But she pushed through one more

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week. Just one more assignment. One more day of feeling

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completely overwhelmed. And then slowly things started to click.

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Eventually, she graduated from BYU. Then earned a Ph. D. from

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Cambridge. Then became a visiting fellow at Harvard. The

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girl who almost quit after one semester became Dr. Tara

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Westover, best-selling author of Educated, inspiring millions

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worldwide. All because she didn't give up right before the

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breakthrough. What if she had packed her bags the first

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semester? What if she had listened to the voice that said,

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"You're not smart enough. You don't belong here." She would

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have missed everything God had planned for her. She was closer

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than she thought. And maybe you are, too. Maybe the business

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you're building is about to turn the corner. Maybe the

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relationship you're fighting for is about to heal. Or possibly

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the ministry you're pouring into is about to bear fruit. Maybe

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the breakthrough in your health, your finances, or your family is

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around the corner, but you won't see it if you quit now. Patient

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endurance. Keep doing what God has called you to do. Just keep

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showing up. Keep praying and keep believing. Because at just

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the right time, you will reap a harvest of blessing if you don't

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give up. Here's today's challenge. Think of one area

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where you've been tempted to quit. Maybe you've been praying

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for something and you're tired of waiting. Maybe you've been

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working toward a goal and you're not seeing progress. Instead of

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giving up, commit to one more week. Maybe one more month or

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one more season of faithful endurance. Ask God to renew your

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strength and help you trust His timing and then watch what He

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does. Lord, some of us are so close to quitting. We're tired

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and discouraged and we don't see the breakthrough yet, but you

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see what we can't. Father, you know the plans you have for us.

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Give us patient endurance. Please renew our strength and

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help us trust your timing, even when it's hard. Remind us that

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we're closer than we think. We choose to keep going, not in our

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own strength, but in yours. In Jesus' name, amen. If this

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episode encouraged you, chances are it'll encourage someone you

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care about, too. So please share it with a friend or a loved one.

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Just copy the link in the show notes and send it their way. You

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never know how much they might need this today. Thanks for

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helping me spread the word. It means the world to me. Thanks

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for joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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Remember, don't quit right before the breakthrough. Patient

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endurance is what you need now. Come back next time for more

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encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until

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then, God bless and have a great day.