we don’t give up.
when we are blessed, when we are in need, when the world around us tells us all kinds of things- “run here, go this way, be careful of that, watch out, don’t expect much, subdue your hope, don’t believe for the impossible… it’s all just a myth, your faith is only self-talk…”
we don’t give up.
keep going, my friends, you saints. when your body aches and you are weary, take a deep breath and know that all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. the race is won this way. keep running. keep turning your head toward the sky.
the sky is like fine powder today, a chalky start to another long day… i am aroused to pray– but not because it feels good, or for some other temporal reward. i am aware, ever so barely, of the consequences of quitting. the hopelessness of being lost after having been found by Love is worse than any other darkness. and that’s because there in the darkness of quitting, the worst kind of bitterness pollutes the soul. whatever weakness i lament, it cannot stop God’s purpose for my life. this is the truth that all of hell rails against, so i cannot quit. i cannot give up ground now. instead, i have got to open up my eyes, and keep on.
so have you. you’ve got to! don’t give up. it’s easier to do this thing together. so please, i ask of you: don’t give up in the slightest way on your faith.
when it’s easier to live in shame, than it is to take hold of the promises and wait. when it’s easier to wallow in condemnation than it is to step into the blinding light of humility. when it’s easier to analyze and seek out others’ counsel than it is to let Jesus’ manifest presence touch your aching, wounded soul… know, my friends, that is the exact time to push through. these are the times we must run harder- when there’s absolutely nothing left. i’m going to push through today. thin, stretched, faint, fragile… i’m going to keep going, and though i may not have some kind of second wind, my shaking hands and feet are going to keep moving. i may not push through with any measurable strength or even seem to move from the outside, but i will keep on.
i run not for the praise of men.
Lord Jesus, Sweet Healer, you are truly God. i bow my whole self down right now and worship you. i thank you for your Love, and i invite you to fill me up today. i pray for my friends, that they would not forget the experiences that taught them discipline in the past… those fragile days and growing times, i pray that today you would send a word to each of them to lead them on, and remind them of your beautiful breakthroughs, the intimacy of your fulfillments, the sweetness of re-feeling not the hurts, but the triumphs. catch them in your great big eternal hand, give them the clarity to continue fighting the fight, to press into the fog. bless my friends with your spiritual blessings and take them into deeper places with you. may you be lifted high up, Jesus, may the trees and all of creation worship you. let every small portion of your creation sing. teach us to worship and sing to you too. teach us how. i love you, oh God.
“Lift up your voice mightily, o jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, do not fear. say to the cities of judah, ‘here is your God!’ behold, the Lord God will come with might, with his arm ruling for him. behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him. like a shepherd he will tend his flock, in his arm he will gather the lambs and carry them in his bosom; he will gently lead the nursing ewes… lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, he calls them all by name; because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one of them is missing… do you not know? have you not heard? the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.” isaiah 40.
“for we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. and not only this, but also we ourselves, having the fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons [and daughters], the redemption of our body. for in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? but if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. in the same way the Spirit also helps our weaknesses; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…what then, shall we say to these things? if God is for us, who can be against us?” romans 8
