Running for example. It takes weeks, months, and even years to get in great shape. It only takes a few weeks to lose it. I have been training for the St. Jude Half Marathon. It got cancelled last weekend. It would be tempting to stop training since the race is over. That would be a let down since we have trained so well. I enjoy being in shape, so running isn't such a chore. Some days I feel less motivated, but I know deep down that if I will "show up, consistently, with a good attitude, for the long haul, and pay the price," then it will pay big dividends (see The Slight Edge book).
I want to treat my recovery - spiritual, purity, financial, nutritional, and career - like I do my running. I don't want to focus just on the "race" but keep a long term mindset. There will be days when I don't feel like doing the work, but I want to do it anyway. There will be days when I feel like it's not making a difference - I want to show up anyway. Remember, the compounding effect can either work for you or against you. Much of my life I've let it work against me.
16+ years of marriage, combined with 39 years of my life - I have some pretty "stubborn" habits of thinking that "die hard." For new thinking and a new philosophy to develop, I have to be open to a new perspective, or apply that which I already know is best (that I've resisted due to various reasons). I want to read books that directly challenge me in those areas that have kept me stuck for so long. I want to read them, apply them, and re-read them. Until it starts to change me from the inside (between my ears).
Wisdom and courage - from the holy spirit - that's what I want. Not one or the other. I pray for it and hope to stay the course of recovery and spiritual growth through to the end. It's worth it. God has proven that over and over these past 2.5 years (and beyond). I am honored to have witnessed such acts of grace, from the LORD and others.
The "rut" is always looming right around the corner. The devil is prowling around like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour. Stand firm. Be alert. Don't "sleep in" and skip a day of recovery and growth. Steady wins the race - when your steady is toward God's best. You can "steadily" drift away from the LORD and out into the darkness where you are most vulnerable to sin. It never "just happens."
Emmanuel - God with us - that's our hope. It's comforting to know that He is with us. I can face life's challenges when that truth fills my heart and soul!
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“The truly liberated human being is not always fighting against something, but more frequently is fighting for something or someone.”
— Denis Waitley
“Mastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt, but a gathering power that moves steadily through time, like the weather.”
— John Champlin Gardner, Jr.
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Isaiah 53:4-6 (NASB)
4 Surely our [e]griefs He Himself bore,
And our [f]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[g]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [h]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our [i]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To [j]fall on Him.
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