RESILIENT

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." - Hebrews 12:1

If you've even been hiking in the mountains you know that the view only gets better as you go. It normally doesn't take but a few hours, and sometimes less, to exchange the flat, wooded fields of the trail head for scenic valley overlooks and jaw dropping views. The increasingly spectacular sights along the way and the eager expectation of the ever better views that awaits at the top provide all the incentive and motivation needed to keep going, even on the toughest of hikes.

Hiking and life have lots in common. Both are journeys with a definite end and beginning, and there are lots of ups and down along the way. More significant than that physical life each person leads is the spiritual journey they travel which carries both eternal significance and the potential for incredible impact for eternity. Good deeds and nice things are admirable possessions in life but they pale in importance compared to the life changing ability of spiritual truth. I've seen money and cool experiences put smiles on people's face but these don't even come close to the glow that overflows from a person who knows that they are loved and forgiven by God. Nothing tops that and this is what led the Apostle Paul to say that, "all things are loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing the truth about Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:8). So if Christ is the greatest truth and treasure and if our greatest goal in life should be share him with the world, how are we doing?

How's your spiritual journey going? I would be willing to bet that most of us are moving along the trail towards godliness slowly, and some not at all. "Walking by faith" for most begins with excitement and enthusiasm, of the same kind you feel when setting out on a hike. Every one of us knows though that the hard part of a journey is not the beginning but the middle, and that's exactly where most of us find ourselves. We are in the dead middle of a spiritual marathon and I'm afraid many of us are not making the progress that we ought. Some of us have stopped all together, content with the progress so far, and have taken a seat on the trail. Others have grown tired of trying and have given up the journey completely to return to the place and way of life from which they came.

I'm afraid many of us have halted because we've grown content with the view from where we're at and have given up on chasing the mountaintop that lies further down the trail. We've satisfied ourselves with spiritual mediocrity when God has so much more he would like to do in our lives. Instead of pursuing the excellence and perfection of Christ and the best that God would have for us, we choose to settle for second best. Second Chronicles 25 tells the sad story of a king who "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly (2 Chronicles 25:2) and Revelation 3:16 speaks of the spiritually lukewarm fence center to whom God begs to pick a side and threatens to spit out. Not a pretty picture in the slightest and not where any of us should want to be.

Spiritual growth, like hiking, can be tough at times and it makes sense to me why many would decide to stop, but I pray that you won't. I pray you would remember that when it got toughest for Christ, to the point that he sweat drops of blood, that he kept on to the cross. If anybody had reason to be content with their spiritual status and progress, it was Christ. He had lived a perfect life to that point, exponentially exceeding the righteous attempt of any man before or since, would one little blip at the end really make a difference? You tell me?

On the trail of life, it is tempting to look around and compare your progress to those around you. Thinking "I'm further along than that person" can quickly become an excuse to stop and take it easy if we're not careful. Luke 12:48 reminds us that God has called each person to something different and that we have no business comparing ourselves to other people - even other believers. The best plan is "to keep our eyes fixed on Christ" because he's our standard and the only one worth comparing to.

The Apostle Paul fought the temptation to get spiritually stagnant just like we do. "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3:13-14). Paul wasn't content with how far he had come or what he'd accomplished, in fact he said he forgot about these things so that he could focus on the task God had given him. What task has God given you? Is your own pride getting in the way? Paul wasn't happy with the view from the side of the mountain because he knew that it was so much better at the top.

If Satan can make us content with being partially godly and spiritually mediocre instead of sold out, he's won the battle. In doing so he waters down our faith to the point that it's no longer salty, doesn't stand out in the darkness, but blends in with the world around us and it completely ineffective. If he can entice us to sit down on the trail and halt our progress then we become an excuse for others to stop as well instead of an encouragement for them to keep going. Wherever you're at right now in your own spiritual journey will you commit to pick up the pace and "run with perseverance (and resilience) the race God has marked out for you?" Will you leave behind the excuses and comparisons that "hinder" you progress and instead join a "cloud of witnesses" who seek earnestly after God and urge others to do the same? We need more people like that, I pray you will.