Faint Yet Pursuing
The life of a Christ follower can be both rewarding and challenging. When we decide to heed the call from our Savior to come and die, take up our cross and follow after Him, there will be a price that is paid.
You may lose friends or even family over your decision. Places you used to go, you cannot enter any longer. Things you used to do, now make you uncomfortable. You will be in a constant battle with your flesh as it wages war against the Spirit, and fights to take control back over your thoughts and actions. Some days it may succeed.
It’s a give, take
Push, pull
High and low kind of lifestyle.
But when the rewards flow and you experience the Presence of God Almighty and witness His hand move in power over your life, the peace birthed from the encounter is overwhelming. When fear no longer holds you captive and you discover a new sense of identity blossoming day by day, you realize His strength is growing in spite of your weakness. The chaos comes, yet you can declare, “It is well”.
The trappings of this world no longer have a hold on you, and you now live truly free from the weight of shame and condemnation. The air smells and feels different when you’ve been washed in the blood.
Both sides of the same coin play out in this race toward eternity with Christ Jesus, and as much as I love the mountain top moments, let’s discuss the valleys today.
In the midst of trials and struggles, we are shaped and forged like no other time in our life. For something to change shape or morph from one thing to another, there is a process that must occur and normally it is painful.
When a tiny grain of sand gets lodged within an oyster, it begins to irritate the creature. In order to protect itself, it starts to surround the foreign body with a smooth, hard substance. This process creates what we know to be a pearl.
When you apply extreme pressure to coal, it produces a diamond.
The destructive flow of lava from a volcano, actually produces new rock and creates land including new islands and mountains.
Pinecones from the Giant Sequoia trees in California, hold the seed to produce new, baby Sequoias. You want to know how they are released and planted? Through the extreme heat of fire. The high temperatures cause the cones to pop open and release their seeds, so new life can bloom out of the devastation.
So much of the beauty we see and experience in this world, is birth out of extreme difficultly and trial. The process it takes to reach the prize, more times than not, will be painful.
Our journey to the Promised Land, that Heavenly home that awaits us, is no different. Jesus told us we would have troubles. (John 16:33) Paul tells us to keep straining and stretching for the prize. (Philippians 3:14) James encourages us to remain steadfast in the testing, for our reward is coming. (James 1:12) And Peter tells us to rejoice in our suffering and to count it joy that we have been found worthy to follow the example of our Lord and Savior. (1 Peter 4:12-13)
But the fight can be incredibly draining and taxing; mentally, spiritually and physically. Sleepless nights filled with worry, can flood your mind with doubts. Struggles have you wondering if this road is worth the uphill climb. Is the juice worth the squeeze, so to speak?
Let me assure you weary soldier- what awaits us beyond the horizon of this world, is stunningly, breath taking. We do not possess the vocabulary, with our limited human language, to describe the glory that awaits our eyes. Treasures beyond our wildest imaginations, and still dull in comparison.
There will be eternal rest and peace. Did you hear it dear friends? ETERNAL!
Never-ending!
Everlasting!
Can you even wrap your brain around no more conflict, anger, shame, guilt, anxiety, depression or regret? There will be complete and total Shalom. That Hebrew word means peace that is complete and whole, lacking nothing.
Nothing to irritate you, agitate you or frustrate you. We will finally reach a perfect utopia. Nothing of this wretched world can come close to offering that, no matter how many lies they spin to deceive.
The powers of this present darkness will be no more. The pressures of society evaporated. Confusion, chaos, destruction, devastation, evil, envies, lies, deceit, manipulation, murders- any negative thing you can conjure up in your brain will be eliminated.
And picture it.
A massive table, the likes of which you have never seen, with all the finest foods and drinks piled high, spread out to enjoy together in glorious fellowship. Our Bridegroom will be seated at the head, as He celebrates with His Bride and welcomes us into His home. The celebration will be tremendous. The joy unmatched.
And we will toast and raise our gold goblets to the King Eternal, for He has not partaken of the vine since His last supper with the disciples over 2,000 years ago. (Matthew 26:29) He is waiting for us. For His church. Talk about partying hard! It will be epic!
All of this came to by brain when reading in Judges the other night. You may be familiar with Gideon and his group of 300 warriors. In this particular passage, they were chasing the kings of Midian to finish the battle that was started. As I came upon chapter 8, verse 4, I read these words:
“And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the 300 men with him, faint yet pursuing.” (Judges 8:4)
Those three words struck me to the heart. They were tired, yet they kept going. Weary, hungry and spent, but determined to finish the job. They understand the situation they found themselves in at the moment, as difficult as it was, was merely temporary and not to be compared to the reward before them. For once the task was complete, their people would have a season of rest and peace.
So, I encourage you to continue to push, and claw, and pull yourself toward the finish line and keep pursuing Christ, like Gideon and his men. You may be in a season of extreme fatigue- keep running. Focus on the Author and Finisher of your faith and do not look away.
One foot in front of the other, day by day. Your progress doesn’t have to be monumental, as long as there is the tiniest bit of forward momentum, you are not stagnant and still. That is victory! Keep going. Keep steppin’. Continue to endure.
He is worth it!
Jesus is worth everything we encounter, good or evil, in this lifetime. I am confident, every sore muscle, blistered heal, migraine and aching back from this race we are running, will all melt away as if it never happened, once we see our Savior face to face.
I want to leave you with the words of one of my favorite Steffany Gretzinger songs. It is written from the perspective of the Father encouraging His children on their journey.
And oh as you run, what hindered love
Will only become part of the story
Baby, you’re almost home now
Please don’t quit now
You’re almost home to Me