Have you ever felt like quitting something because it got hard? I know I have many times; however, I have found when I press on and determine to see it through, the reward is great.
I have been doing a 60 day workout program. It is hard and leaves me totally spent at the end of the workout. My son asked me if I would do it with him and I agreed, and I am determined not to quit, no matter how hard it gets.
Yesterday I came down with a head cold. My sinuses are fickle and can’t seem to decide if they want to run or stop up, my eyes are itchy, and my body just feels yuck. I knew today’s workout was the hardest one in the circuit, so I intentionally went to bed at 9 p.m. with the hopes of getting some much needed rest. I coughed and sneezed and blew my nose, tossing and turning until about midnight. When the clocked went off, I almost cried. I had only had about 5 hours sleep and to make it worse, it was raining a heavy rain outside. Who wants to get out of bed when it is dark outside and raining? That’s a recipe for sleeping in if I’ve ever heard one.
I drug myself out of bed and pulled on my workout clothes and made my way downstairs to turn the DVD on. Why was I doing this to myself? I had a perfectly good excuse to quit today. I’m sick. No one would blame me for quitting. In fact, one of my good friends encouraged me to sleep in and get my rest so I could get well. I knew I was at a defining moment with my commitment to this program. Either I pressed in and worked out or I quit. I knew if I quit today it would be easy to find reasons to quit later in the program and eventually, I’d be back to little or no exercise.
Many of us are on fire for Jesus, singing worship song, and sharing His message with others and then something hard comes along. Something that doesn’t seem fair and no one would blame us if we quit or sat out for a while. It is in the hard places our commitment to Jesus is tested. It is in the hard places our witness either shines or disintegrates. At some point in our Christian journey we all face a crisis of belief situation when we have to make a choice. Am I in this for the long haul or am I just a fair weathered friend of Jesus’?
2 Chronicles 16:9a says “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” Are you fully committed to Him? Even when you don’t feel like being committed to Him? When your life situation doesn’t make sense to you at all or doesn’t seem fair, are you fully committed to Him?
He is fully committed to you. He promises us in Deuteronomy 31:6, 31:8, Joshua 1:5, and Hebrews 13:5 He will never leave us nor forsake us. If He repeated Himself that many times, it was for our benefit. He wanted us to know that we know that we know we can count on Him.
When you come to a crossroad in life and you are faced with a choice, will you be like Joshua and choose the Lord [Joshua 24:15], no matter how hard that pathway looks? In John 15:16, Jesus tells us He chose us first. Will you choose Him? Will you run the race in spite of any hindrances in your way [Hebrews 12:1]? If you persevere, press on, and don’t give up then your prize it Jesus. He’s worth the effort! He’s worth the pain! He’s worth it all!