living faithful

 

We start out with a desire for something we have never done before and hope in our hearts for a vision of what we think we can do. We begin all gusto until it becomes clear that there will be work required of us, and it will be far more uncomfortable than we really want to deal with. 

It's when the effort becomes so evident, that we start to change our minds about how badly we want something. 

But we've got this decision we made and now we have to deal with it in some way. 

Do we quit entirely? No, that'd be too humiliating. 

What if we back off just slightly so that it's barely noticeable? We'd still be getting through it and wouldn't be considered a quitter that way. 

The choice to back off or coast without pushing through something we no longer want is so tempting. 

Though we can change our minds, there are only certain times when the window is open for that. 

To be in situations in which we no longer want what we initially were so excited about and to notice our effort wane, and to seek strength to endure anyway and simply remain committed is to honor our trust and to live by faith. It is to trust that strength will rise up in us. It is to believe that we have not come to the limit of our ability to press on and endure to completion. 

When Jesus told His disciples to give up everything and follow Him, they had no idea how difficult or uncomfortable it would be. 

There are stories of real humans changing their minds and their enthusiasm diminishing once their assumptions became a different reality. 

In the middle of a heatwave is not the time to open the windows. The same is true when we're feeling as though the vision we had is being burned in an incinerator. 

Just because it's hard or we are bored or feeling tired, or it's not panning out to look the way we thought it would, doesn't mean it's time to quit at the thing. And just because what we envisioned doesn't appear to be realistic doesn't mean the thing is wrong or bad for us. 

There's a verse in the Bible where Jesus says to those of us who are tired and weary to come to Him. He says that He will give us rest. Perhaps we could take that to mean rest from the quitting mindset that we are so tempted to succumb to every time it doesn't look like we thought it would. Maybe Jesus said that He would give us rest from thinking we can't go on and that He will give us the mental stamina--rest from the thought that we need to rely on our own inner reservoir. 

When reality tells us that our vision was inaccurate, it doesn't necessarily mean that we made a mistake.

If God allows us to be in it, He will get us through it--either by providing a way out like a breakup or allowing us to break a leg. Or, maybe the way He will help us through is by changing our minds about whatever it is that is wearying us to go on. 

He will help us through by giving us strength beyond our capacity to wield on our own. 

At the point when we realize reality is different than we thought it might be, to choose to push anyway is to be faithful--to live full of faith--in trust that our effort is producing something good and that we will be helped through. 

Just because it doesn't appear how we envisioned doesn't mean it's wrong for us and cannot be used as a part of our growth, and beyond us perhaps other people in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. 

To persevere even though it's not turning out or appearing as we imagined, that's faithfulness. And faith is what Jesus asked of us--to walk with Him, into the unknown, and to keep walking even though it'll be uncomfortable and will require effort to persevere.

When we shift from trying to preserve our ego and chasing an outcome and instead decide to remain committed--even though the cost is significant and it's not fun anymore--that's when something holy happens in us; that's His Kingdom come in us, on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

Our commitment to growing our faith in what is unseen is what matters most. 

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"These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." -- James 1: 7