Don't Give Up!

I've had two conversations in as many days with dear friends of mine, one a girlfriend, one a guy friend, both of whom are going through an evaluation of their faith.  (I'm thinking, "Do you know what kind of year I've had?  Are you sure you want to be talking to me about this?").  Maybe though, I am a good source for them right now, being a step out of the valley but not yet on the mountain. I understand how they feel.  I know where they are and it's rough.  I've struggled with doubt about God's faithfulness and plan for my own life, too.  As I did, my friends both feel let down by God, ignored, looked over, neglected. They are questioning God's protection, His provision, His purpose, and His care. 

I think it was divine wisdom that Paul compared our walk of faith to a race.  Hebrews 12:1 says,

"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

A race involves sweat, fatigue, pain. It requires faith that after leaving the starting line, you will make it to the finish line.  It includes "runner's highs", where you are doing good, feeling strong, running fast.  It also includes shin splints, knee pain, burning lungs, and the further you make it, exhaustion that makes you want to roll to the ground and collapse.  I think our culture has a lot to do with this, but somehow we convince ourselves that after giving our lives to Christ, the rest of our time on Earth should be a cake walk.  A leisurely stroll down a garden path, seventy degree weather with a cool breeze, refreshment booths along the way should our bodies even begin to think about thirst, and fluffy beds with mosquito nets should fatique get anywhere near.  That comes later, but if you are alive and reading this, you know we are not there yet!

Life is hard and I don't know about you, but to me it seems like life is getting harder.  Everywhere I look, there are challenges, in my own life and in the lives of the people I love.  Babies die.  Twenty-year marriages end.  Loved ones pass before reconciliation takes place.  Husbands lose jobs.  Kids run wild.  Betrayal plaques families over and over.  Mental illness drains faithful caregivers of all their strength. Years of dedication are rewarded by being shown the door.  Three months before your wedding day, your fiance' has a motorcycle accident and never comes out of a coma. Investments go bad. Teenagers commit suicide. Entire families are divided over disagreements. Your kid's college fund is depleted just to keep food on the table.  Cancer strikes and takes tender lives. Hearts are broken into tiny pieces. Again.

"He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,

and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

Matt 5:45

Hard times, extreme challenges, and horrible disasters of spiritual, emotional, and physical natures strike even the most godly, faithful, loving, forgiving, praying, fasting, tithing, full of faith people who love God and have surrendered their life to His purpose.  These times make us ask God "where were You?", "why did You let that happen?" and "do You not love me anymore?".  These are very real and honest questions but, this side of heaven, are very hard to answer.  We only see a small part of the big picture, and even that we "see darkly".  We interject our own perceptions, beliefs, and values into our circumstances and may never know the true meaning and purpose until we are able to ask God face to face.  Disappointment and rejection cloud our judgement and there are always plenty of situations anxious to cause us to become jaded and bring hardness to our hearts.  So much happens that we don't understand. God gives us a green salad after we ordered a triple cheeseburger.  It makes us mad, but can we get to the point that we trust that He knows a steady diet of cheeseburgers will kill us, and that salad with spinach and bean sprouts will be the best choice for us?  Can we hold onto the belief that God loves us, promises never to leave us, and, oh yeah, He's made a way for us to go to heaven when we die, saving us from an eternity in hell? The second verse of Hebrews 12 tells us how to keep running the race described in the verse one.....

 "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus,

the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

 Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne

Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;

then you won’t become weary and give up." 

If you find yourself at a precarious crossroad of faith, faced with the decision to A) determine it's not working, it's not worth it, it's too hard, you'd rather drop out of the race and join the other team, hey, they've got pizza there, or B) you decide that you have come too *&$@# far to stop now, you've worked too hard to throw away your testimony, things will get better, the prize will be worth it if you keep going, then let me encourage you friend....

Choose B. Stand strong. Don't give up.  Hang in there. If you can't run one more inch, then just stand here.  ("Having done all, stand..." Eph 6).  Ask God to meet You where you are and to bring truckloads of strength and grace until you can resume the race.  If you don't have the strength to stand, then sit.  Hey, at least you're not going backwards and you're not crawling off the track.  Don't lose the ground you have already won.  Surround yourself with people who are full of wisdom.  Find encouragement from those you love.  Put a demand on your reserves and pull out every last ounce of determination that your seeds of faith produced.

That finish line may be a lot closer than you think.