Skip to main content

Eye on the Prize

           Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do…  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:2-8 & 12)         

           fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

          When the going gets tough… keep your eyes on the prize. This is hard to do when pain, anger, fear, or other emotions reduce our lives to themselves. James and Jesus both taught this idea. Viktor Frankl wrote that the people who survived the German concentration camps were those who had a reason to survive and didn’t let go of it. This is a struggle for me. It’s so much easier to look at what is and believe it will continue through eternity than it is to look at eternity.

          I’ve told the story of the man whom God told to push a huge boulder. The man pushed at it every day for hours and after doing this for a long time, he bowed before God and said, “I’m sorry, Lord. I’ve failed to move the boulder. I tried as had as I could, but it hasn’t budged.”

          And God said, “I never told you to move the boulder. I told you to push the boulder. I never meant the boulder to budge, but I did mean for you to develop the strength you have through the task.” We can think we have failed miserably because we think God has asked us to do one thing when He’s actually asked us to do another. And sometimes, that’s a good thing. If I knew that God’s goal was my strength and not the moving of the boulder, I would pay attention to every little change. “I’m stronger today! OK, God, I’m stronger now….” And the next day, “Oh God, I’m weaker today. I’m so pathetic. Why do I even bother?” The answer should be, “I bother because God has asked it of me.” Today’s strength will be different from tomorrow’s, and what matters is not today, or tomorrow, but what happens as a result of “getting going” and keeping going when the going gets tough.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more