Bear Crawls and Shipwrecks

Suggested Reading: Galatians 6:1-10

In the film Facing the Giants, Coach Grant Taylor tries to turn a losing football team at a private Christian school into a winning football team by teaching them the principle of giving God glory in every aspect of their lives. One of the leaders on his team is a young defensive player named Brock. Brock's biggest failing is that he always wants to quit when he gets tired. In order to teach Brock a little bit about perception, he has Brock do bear crawls, blindfolded,  with a teammate on his back. Coach Taylor tells Brock that he wants him to go 20 yards, but since Brock cannot see how far he has gone, Taylor pushes him the entire length of the football field. This lesson about enduring when you are tired serves Brock well when, in the climactic game, a very tired Brock manages to hold the defense together for one last stop, giving his team a chance to win.

At times, trying to live a good life can make you feel like Brock. You've given everything you have to give, you've worn yourself out serving God and helping people, and you just don't think you can go any farther. You're tired. You want to quit, to throw in the towel, declare that you are done trying to do the right thing all the time, trying to serve, trying to give. You're just done. Maybe, after a break, you can start up again. Maybe when you've had a chance to recover your strength you can go back for more. You just need a chance to stop, to not worry about doing the right thing or being the right person or serving.

Now, I'm not talking about general exhaustion here. I'm not talking about the kind of exhaustion where you haven't gotten enough sleep and you've worked extra hours and you are physically drained. I'm talking about spiritual exhaustion, the kind where you have given everything of yourself that you have to give and there is nothing left. Your emotions are spent, you have no more compassion left in the reservoir, no more patience left for people who mistreat you and take advantage of you, no more cheeks you can turn, no more self-control you can exert. You're ready to quit doing good. You can't do it anymore. You don't have the energy and it's not worth it anyway. That kind of spiritual exhaustion.

If you have ever been in that spot, like I have been, Paul has something to say. "We must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up" (Galatians 6:9, HCSB).  "Sure, Paul, that's easier said than done," I can hear someone responding right now. "Do you know how long I've been doing this? Do you know how much I've given?" But if you know what Paul went through for the cause of Christ, then you know Paul is giving us more than empty platitudes. Paul describes his own experiences like this:  

Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans. Once I was stoned by my enemies. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers; labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and lacking clothing (2 Corinthians 11:25-27, HCSB).

Paul isn't telling us to pretend we don't get frustrated or weary. He isn't telling us that we have to put on a brave face and lie about how we feel. He is simply saying, "Don't give up." Put one foot in front of the other. Keep pushing forward. Keep giving and working, even when it doesn't look like it's paying off because "we will reap at the proper time, if we don't give up." We never know when it will happen. We never know what it will look like. But if we hang in there and keep living this life, it will be worth it. Don't give up. 

From John the Baptizer to John the Doubter

Suggested Reading: Matthew 11:1-15

When Jesus began his ministry, he appeared at the river where John was preaching and baptizing people as they repented of their sins. When Jesus showed up to be baptized, John immediately recognized him and argued with Jesus about who should baptize whom, followed by Jesus' baptism and the opening of the Heavens as a voice proclaimed Jesus to be God's son (Matthew 3:14-17). But shortly afterwards, John was arrested and began to rot in prison while Jesus' ministry began to flourish. John had believed that Jesus was the messiah, but as he sat in prison things began to change. Perhaps John, like everyone else, had a mistaken idea of what the Messiah was supposed to be. Perhaps he expected that the Messiah would free him from prison and was trying to understand why that hadn't happened. Whatever the case, this man who had proclaimed Jesus as the coming Messiah sent a message by his disciples and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3, HCSB).

Sometimes, when life gets hard and doesn't go the way we expect it to, we can begin to doubt ourselves and the truths we have learned along the way. Just like John, a man whose birth had been proclaimed by angels, who had recognized the voice of the Messiah's mother from inside the womb, and who began to doubt what he knew to be true, we can begin to doubt ourselves and the things we've learned as well. When our marriage hits a rough patch, we begin to question whether this was really the person God had for us and whether we can really handle it anymore. When tragedy strikes or that new job doesn't last like it was supposed to, we begin to question God's control, or his existence, or both. When people walk out on us and we're left picking up the pieces of a broken life, we can begin to question whether we are really who we thought we were or if we've just been fooling ourselves all along.

When John got discouraged and began to doubt both Jesus and himself, Jesus told John's messengers, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed” (Matthew 11:4-6, HCSB). Because pain and suffering tend to shrink our field of vision Jesus told John to look beyond the circumstances of his prison, beyond the hardships he was currently facing and see the way God was moving around him, to remember that the movement of God was bigger than his own circumstances. Jesus reminded John to, once again, look at the bigger picture and to remember that, even if God is not doing what we expect, God is still active. Jesus reminded John that God blesses those who refuse to give up the faith when God allows them to experience difficulty.

When life is hard and God isn't doing what you think he should, when you feel trapped in difficult circumstances and wonder how you will ever escape, don't give in to the doubts that naturally attack you. Make a point of looking around you and seeing how God is moving beyond your own circumstances. Remember the examples of John, and Job, and all the heroes of the faith who experienced difficulty and hardship but refused to give up the faith.

Difficult times will inevitably bring discouragement and doubt. Don't give in. Keep your head up, watching for the movement of God around you. Don't let go of the truths you've learned because things get hard.