Hey you....
Hey you.
I know how you feel. I know the questions. I know the doubts.
I have been there. So many times.
You wonder if it will ever work out. You wonder if doing the "right" thing will actually pay off.
You wonder if this is just all for nothing. You wonder if this is some kind of cruel joke...this Christian walk.
I get it.
Oh, do I get it.
I have journals and journals of these thoughts. These doubts. These questions.
Why is being good so hard?
Why does it seem like those that choose wrong paths actually come out better sometimes?
Why does it seem like you will always be the one at the wishing well instead of the dance?
What good is it to pray and fast, and believe, and repeat that sequence only to have nothing happen. Zilch. Nada.
Why does it seem like everyone gets what they want so easily, while you sit with hands held out grasping air?
Your story is not over.
Let me say that again, your story is not over.
When these thoughts run rampant through my mind, I have to go back.....and remember.
I have to grab my Bible and read about Noah, and David, and Ruth, and Esther, and Abraham, and Moses, and Paul, and Peter, and....
Jesus.
No one escapes suffering. No one escapes loss. No one escapes heartbreak. No one escapes pain.
Yet...
Few find the fruit of those things.
They give up too easily.
They walk away from God.
They walk away from church.
They walk away from good.
Because....it's just not working.
Oh, but what if Joseph would have walked away? What if he would have burned with hatred for his brothers and spent his life trying to find revenge?
What if Noah would have given into the peer pressure and the nay sayers and not built the Ark?
What if David would have given up his pursuit to rise above King Saul's hatred and jealousy and take matters into his own hands?
What if Ruth had turned from God and her mother in law out of her deep grief and loss of her husband and not stayed with Naomi?
What if Moses had not gone to Egypt and approached Pharaoh?
What if Jesus would have turned back around from that walk to the Cross?
NONE of these people wanted to do these things. None of these people felt equipped to do what God was asking.
NONE of them could have ever imagined what the outcome of their obedience would be. Not one.
But....
What if they had given up.
What if they thought it was just too hard.
What if they turned their back and hearts from God.
Your story is still well under way.
Do. Not. Lose. Hope.
Do. Not. Lose. Faith.
Do. Not. Stop. Doing. The. Right. Thing.
Your time will come.
When you least expect it.
You will see the fruit.
You will experience the bounty.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
not giving up,
jill
I know how you feel. I know the questions. I know the doubts.
I have been there. So many times.
You wonder if it will ever work out. You wonder if doing the "right" thing will actually pay off.
You wonder if this is just all for nothing. You wonder if this is some kind of cruel joke...this Christian walk.
I get it.
Oh, do I get it.
I have journals and journals of these thoughts. These doubts. These questions.
Why is being good so hard?
Why does it seem like those that choose wrong paths actually come out better sometimes?
Why does it seem like you will always be the one at the wishing well instead of the dance?
What good is it to pray and fast, and believe, and repeat that sequence only to have nothing happen. Zilch. Nada.
Why does it seem like everyone gets what they want so easily, while you sit with hands held out grasping air?
Your story is not over.
Let me say that again, your story is not over.
When these thoughts run rampant through my mind, I have to go back.....and remember.
I have to grab my Bible and read about Noah, and David, and Ruth, and Esther, and Abraham, and Moses, and Paul, and Peter, and....
Jesus.
No one escapes suffering. No one escapes loss. No one escapes heartbreak. No one escapes pain.
Yet...
Few find the fruit of those things.
They give up too easily.
They walk away from God.
They walk away from church.
They walk away from good.
Because....it's just not working.
Oh, but what if Joseph would have walked away? What if he would have burned with hatred for his brothers and spent his life trying to find revenge?
What if Noah would have given into the peer pressure and the nay sayers and not built the Ark?
What if David would have given up his pursuit to rise above King Saul's hatred and jealousy and take matters into his own hands?
What if Ruth had turned from God and her mother in law out of her deep grief and loss of her husband and not stayed with Naomi?
What if Moses had not gone to Egypt and approached Pharaoh?
What if Jesus would have turned back around from that walk to the Cross?
NONE of these people wanted to do these things. None of these people felt equipped to do what God was asking.
NONE of them could have ever imagined what the outcome of their obedience would be. Not one.
But....
What if they had given up.
What if they thought it was just too hard.
What if they turned their back and hearts from God.
Your story is still well under way.
Do. Not. Lose. Hope.
Do. Not. Lose. Faith.
Do. Not. Stop. Doing. The. Right. Thing.
Your time will come.
When you least expect it.
You will see the fruit.
You will experience the bounty.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
not giving up,
jill
