Pushing It
Have you ever had one of those weeks where at the end you are just totally exhausted? That’s how this last week was for me. I just didn’t feel like I had anything left. I had worked extra hours, got up earlier than usual, and since my co-worker was on vacation, I had to hustle more to keep up with the work orders I was getting. By the end of the week I was feeling pretty frazzled and my usually patient self was starting to weaken and show signs of irritability. This situation made me realize how much I rely on having someone to help me. I know that if my partner had been there with me that I wouldn’t have felt so worn out at the end of the week.
That reminds me of how my life was before I sought help from God. I was always exhausted from trying to do everything on my own. I didn’t want or need any help. After all, God was for the weak that can’t handle life and need a crutch to lean on…right? Well, I admit that’s the way I used to think about Christians. So let’s think about that. If you had a broken leg, do you think using a crutch would make you a weakling? Of course not…only a fool would try to walk on a broken leg without a crutch. So if your spirit is broken, wouldn’t the smart thing to do be to seek help and healing? Helloooo! OK, so it’s safe to say that the smart ones seek and accept help when they can’t do it alone…right?
The thing is…I thought being a Christian would be easy but it’s not. In fact, it was a lot easier back when I lived by the worlds rules, you know the ones, “if it feels good do it”, “you only live once”, and how about this one, “I’m not hurting anybody but myself”. I was making excuses for my moral weaknesses, my lack of direction, and for my addictions. The thing is, God doesn’t promise life on earth is going to be good or easy, He tells us if we stand up to the temptations and trials the world dishes out, that we will have a great life in Heaven at the end. Let me try to explain with this story…
So after the killer week I had I was ready to rest all day Saturday, but what I forgot was that I had told a friend I would go to the mountains with him and hike around. Well I found this hike up there that sounded challenging but doable. It was 3.8 miles one way, and an increase in altitude of 2000ft (for the shape we were in this was pushing it). So we set out on this hike feeling fresh and ready to go, but it didn’t take long to realize that this was going to be tough. The realization of what a 2000ft incline started to set in pretty quick. My legs and lungs began to scream at me, “You fool, what were you thinking”! The trail just kept going and going and it seemed like we were never going to make it. There was a battle going on in my mind between the part that said, “You can do this”, and the part that was saying, “it’s too hard, just quit, you don’t have do this, it’s not worth it”. The trail was kind of dangerous too, the path was narrow and if you slipped you would have a long way to fall. On top of that, we even encountered a rattlesnake at one point right in the middle of the path. But we didn’t give up and when we reached the top we were surrounded by the most beautiful scenery. It was an awesome sight and it made all the work to get there worthwhile. On the way down I realized how similar this hike was to what a Christian walk is like.
Being a Christian is a challenge, there are many obstacles, and if you fall off the narrow path you can fall a long way. So if your one of those people who think like I used to, think again. Being a Christian isn’t like using a crutch, it’s more like learning to stand up without one…without being too proud to ask for help when you need it. Psalms 37:23-24 says this, “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he may stumble he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand”. God didn’t say it was going to be easy, but He does promise something beautiful at the end!
And even though I was pushing it by going on that hike, it helped me gain confidence in my ability to finish when faced with a challenge. (Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 4:7)
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