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“The best way to overcome is to keep going.”
Loren Thornburg
We all face obstacles. Some of us seem to have more than others. No one likes trials or asks for them, but we all have them. The question then is what will we choose to do with them. For a culture that doesn’t like to endure trials we sure do love a good story of someone who overcomes them. We celebrate the stories and make movies of the lives where people have overcome great odds. We all love a good story like that as long as it’s not ours. Although we have probably experienced the joy of overcoming it is still so tempting to quit when it gets hard. Yet, I wonder if that trial that seems so hard now is actually helping to make things easier in the future. So then when we give up because we want things to be easier we are actually making things harder. The immediate rewards become temporary. There are joys ahead if you will only keep going.
“For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away and enjoy to the full what is promised.”
Hebrews 10:36 Amplified
Endurance means that we are not swerved from our purpose and loyalty to the faith by trials and suffering. I wish it didn’t say by trials and suffering in there because then I think I could say that I am able to endure. However, when trials and suffering comes I realize how easily swerved I am. The pain and unknown of how much longer I will have to endure leaves me wanting out. Yet, when I choose to opt out I also opt out of all that God wants to do in and through me. I miss out on seeing what He will do if I will wait on Him. The temptation is great but the reward is greater. As tempting as it is to leave the place of trial we can’t forget the reward we are leaving as well. If we can only remain under what God has allowed for us to endure we will also receive His promises to the full. God doesn’t call us to endure just so that we have to go through pain, but there is always something on the other side. God is always doing something in the midst of our trial. We just have to stick it out long enough to see what He is up to.
“Don’t be fooled by this labyrinth of life. What feels like a setback may actually be propelling you forward.”
Loren Thornburg
A labyrinth is a maze-like structure where the goal is to get to the center. Dating back to Greek mythology these mazes involve intricate structure through which it is difficult to find your way. What I noticed in walking through a modern day labyrinth is that although the goal is to get to the center you have to go farther away to get back to center. Usually you make your way close to the center only to have to travel back to the outer edges to eventually make your way back to the centermost point. I was reminded that sometimes what seems farther away is actually getting me closer to my desire. It seems that in the face of trials we are farther from where we sought to arrive, but maybe it is those trials that are taking us one step farther. It happens all the time: The job loss that sets us in position for a better one; the break up that makes us available for someone who is a better fit; another failed attempt at our dream that forces us to try another way. So then when it feels you’re only moving farther from your goal look again. You may find as you continue traveling on your labyrinth of life that you are now closer than it seemed.
“Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.”
Proverbs 28:26
God continually contradicts human wisdom. We see this over and over throughout scripture: Goliath was killed by a boy with stones, the Savior of the world came as a baby born in a manger, the gospel spread through Paul who previously persecuted Christians. So it seems we may not be able to rely on our own wisdom or understanding. Our trust can not be in our own understanding, but we must look to God for wisdom and understanding. It is in His wisdom that we are kept safe. It is in His wisdom that we can see outside and past our circumstances to what He is doing in the midst of what feels like a never ending maze. He has planned the labyrinth of our life and is walking with us each step of the way to bring us where He wants us. Yet, what we may find is that it is less about getting to the center of the labyrinth as it is about trusting the One who walks with you through the maze. No matter how far or close it feels from where we think we should be headed we can trust the Maker of our labyrinth.
