SUNDAY WORSHIP | 10 AM | DR. HOSEA COLLINS | CALVARY HAWTHORNE | 06.28.2026 - 2026-06-29

When You Feel Like Giving Up, Keep Going

Monday — Understanding the Truth

Have you ever been right on the edge of something good — and almost walked away?

Today's Scripture "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." — Galatians 6:9

Reflection There's a reason the Bible doesn't promise you'll reap if you try hard enough, or if things go smoothly enough. It promises you'll reap if you faint not. That single condition changes everything.

The story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10 shows us what this looks like in real life. Bartimaeus was sitting by the road, blind, broke, and overlooked. When he heard Jesus was passing by, he started calling out — and the crowd immediately tried to silence him. They told him to sit down, stay quiet, and stop bothering the teacher.

He got louder.

Here's the truth at the heart of this week: your breakthrough isn't stopped by your circumstances. It's only stopped if you stop. God's promise is still standing. The harvest is still coming. The only thing that can cancel it is you walking away before it arrives.

Bartimaeus couldn't see, but he could hear. And when he heard Jesus was near, he used what he had. He didn't wait until conditions were perfect. He prayed with what he had, from where he was.

That's the invitation for you today — not to have it all figured out, but simply not to quit.

Today's Step Ask yourself honestly: Is there something I've been believing God for that I've quietly started to let go of? Name it — and choose today not to faint.

A Closing Thought The harvest is real. The season is coming. You just have to stay in the field.

The Opposition Is Actually a Sign

Tuesday — When It's Hard

Has it ever felt like the moment you started praying harder, things got worse?

Today's Scripture "And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me." — Mark 10:48

Reflection When Bartimaeus started calling out to Jesus, he didn't get immediate relief. He got immediate resistance. The crowd turned on him. People mocked him, shushed him, tried to make him feel foolish for even trying.

Most of us would have done one of two things: fought back at the crowd, or gone silent in shame. Either way, we'd have lost sight of the one we were actually reaching for.

It's honest to say — opposition hurts. When you're praying and believing and things get harder instead of easier, it genuinely feels like God isn't listening. It can feel like evidence that your faith isn't working, that you're not worth the miracle, that maybe you should just accept things as they are.

But here's what Bartimaeus understood in that moment: if the crowd is trying to stop you, you must be on your way to something. Opposition isn't proof that God has forgotten you. It can actually be confirmation that you're moving in the right direction.

Satan doesn't bother opposing someone who isn't headed anywhere meaningful. The resistance you're feeling may be less like a dead end and more like a signal — you struck a nerve because something real is at stake.

You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt. But don't let the noise make you go quiet.

Today's Step Think of one area where opposition has made you want to give up. What if that resistance is actually a signal that you're closer than you think?

A Closing Thought The crowd tried to silence him — and Jesus still stopped. Your cry is still being heard.

Thermostat, Not Thermometer

Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice

What if the biggest thing standing between you and a breakthrough isn't your circumstances — it's your settings?

Today's Scripture "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." — Isaiah 26:3

Reflection Here's a simple but powerful idea: there's a difference between a thermometer and a thermostat. A thermometer just tells you what the temperature is. A thermostat sets what the temperature will be.

When life gets hard, it's easy to become a thermometer — just reporting back what you see, feel, and fear. Things aren't getting better. Nothing's changing. I don't see how this works out. Every word you speak just reflects the current conditions.

But God created you to be a thermostat. You have the ability to set a different temperature with your faith, your words, and your focus — and then give it time to change the environment around you.

The catch? When you set a thermostat, the room doesn't cool down instantly. It takes time. If you give up five minutes in and switch it back, nothing changes. The same is true in prayer. You pray, you believe, you speak life — and then you hold the setting. You don't reset it to despair every time the room still feels warm.

Practically, this means paying attention to what you're saying about your situation. It means catching yourself when you start rehearsing the worst-case scenario and redirecting your mind toward what God has said. It means acting — even in small ways — like the answer is already on its way.

Today's Step Choose one area of your life where you've been a thermometer. Write down one thing God has promised you about it, and speak it out loud today as a declaration, not a wish.

A Closing Thought You can't control everything that happens — but you can control what you set your mind on. Start there.

The Haters Became the Ushers

Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life

What if the people who've been working against you are actually part of how God gets you to where you're going?

Today's Scripture "And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer: rise, he calleth thee." — Mark 10:49

Reflection Picture this: Bartimaeus keeps calling out. The crowd keeps pushing back. And then — Jesus stops. He turns around. And he says, "Bring him to me."

Here's the detail that changes everything. The same people who had been telling Bartimaeus to be quiet? They were the ones who had to walk over and say, "Good news — he's calling for you." The very crowd that tried to silence him became the ones who escorted him to his miracle.

He never argued with them. He never stopped to defend himself or demand an apology. He just kept his attention on Jesus — and Jesus handled the rest.

Imagine someone who's been quietly doing the right thing at work while a coworker undercuts them at every turn. They don't retaliate. They don't post about it. They just keep showing up, doing good work, staying faithful. And one day, that same coworker — without realizing it — mentions their name to the right person, and a door opens.

That's not luck. That's the Bartimaeus pattern. When you refuse to spend your energy fighting your critics and instead pour it into your faith, God has a way of repurposing the opposition itself.

Your enemies don't have the final word. Sometimes they're just your unwitting escorts.

Today's Step Is there someone in your life you've been spending energy fighting or resenting? What would it look like to redirect that energy toward trusting God instead?

A Closing Thought You don't have to win every argument. You just have to keep calling the right name.

Act Like You Already Know How This Ends

Friday — Carrying It Forward

If someone you completely trusted told you something amazing was on its way — would you act differently starting today?

Today's Scripture "This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." — 1 John 5:14–15

Reflection Think about the moment Bartimaeus heard the words: "Be of good cheer — rise, he's calling for you." He didn't wait to see what would happen next. The Bible says he threw off his cloak and jumped to his feet. He moved like the answer was already real.

That's the posture 1 John 5 is pointing us toward. When we ask according to God's will — according to what he's already promised in his Word — we can know he hears us. And if he hears us, we can know we have it. Not someday, maybe. Already.

This isn't wishful thinking. It's the kind of confidence that changes how you carry yourself through the weekend, through Monday morning, through the hard conversations and the long waiting seasons.

You've spent this week learning not to faint, not to let opposition silence you, not to let your circumstances set the temperature of your faith. Now carry that into the days ahead. Think like it's true. Feel like it's true. Act like it's true — not because you're pretending, but because you trust the one who promised.

When you believe a trustworthy person gives you good news, you start planning. God's Word is the most trustworthy news you'll ever receive.

Today's Step Whatever you've been believing God for this week — take one small action today that reflects your trust that he heard you. Let your feet follow your faith.

A Closing Thought It's not over until you say it's over. And with God, the best word you can speak is: not yet.