Keep your eyes on the prize

When I think of somebody who chose to hang in there, whose steadiness is inspiring, I think of a man who looked like a bulldog, whose gravelly voice kept England’s morale up all the way through World War 2 – Winston Churchill. Once when asked to deliver a commencement address, he showed up with his usual flair, cigar clenched in his teeth, cane at the ready. At the podium he roared, “never give up,” paused for a moment, and repeated the line, then sat down! The crowd responded with thunderous applause. Why? Because that line was the epitome of Churchill’s life.

When the war was draining, London was in flames, and England’s armies were bogged down by the Nazi might, he called on the British to stand firm. In a memorable speech in the darkest days of the war, he said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.”

Ever wanted to quit?
Does your job feel like a crushing weight and you want to throw it off?
Maybe it’s your marriage that is a source of unending conflict and/or pain, so you just want it to be over.
Perhaps you’re tired of parenting a teenager who resists each and every effort you make at protecting her from herself and you want to say, “Fine, do what you want, I quit as your Dad.”
Feeling frustration with some habit that is resisting every attempt you make at change? Now you’re ready to say, “that’s just what I do, I can’t change.”

I know that desperate desire to escape, the thought that says, ‘anywhere but here, anything but this.’ We all become discouraged. We are worn down by fatigue, battered by criticism, disillusioned by failure- our own and of those around us, disheartened – to the point that we are ready to walk away. We need, in those days, to hear that simple phrase – “Never give up!”

Somebody wrote, “the world is run by those who stay to the end of the meeting.” All you corporate types will understand that one. It is at the end of the meeting when the action points are decided, the summations written down. Those who left 10 minutes too soon miss the opportunity. Battles are won, often not by the most skillful general or the better resourced army, but by the determination to prevail. The difference in an athletic competition frequently comes down to which team wants the win more, and thus, doesn’t ‘quit’ in the middle of the game.

The Bible encourages us to finish well with this great call to steadiness- “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.” Hebrews 12:2 (The Message) Jesus looked past the cross and saw the Throne! That’s the key to enduring – seeing the promise.

Paul, who endured every kind of difficulty and deprivation in his lifetime of ministry, reminds us to keep our eyes on the prize. " I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven… we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere. Dear brothers and sisters, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and the reward for my work. So please stay true to the Lord, my dear friends." (Philippians 3: 13-14; 20-4:1, NLT)

If you’re on the edge – ready to quit – take a break.
Call for a strategic time-out. Call in your counselors (make sure they’re good ones!) and regain your focus.
With your focus on what’s important, on God’s promises, you can endure and you will emerge with the crown that God will give to all those who have served faithfully. Never give up!____________________

A correction…
Yesterday, I spoke with the colleague whose ideas I referred to in Monday’s TFTD. He felt that I mis-represented his thoughts. His suggestions about reasons that God allowed the Hurricane were not fore-gone conclusions, but rather suggestions that he felt Believers should consider as they prayerfully reflect on the ways of God. I apologize for implying otherwise.