Sound of Surviving Blog

Sometimes I just feel like giving up. I feel like crying out to God, “This is all too much, God. I don’t know if I can keep going. Can I go back to when things were simpler and my life wasn’t so full of obligations and complications?” But I already know what his answer is: “No, my child, you must press on, just keep moving forward. I am with you.” Knowing before I even utter a word that God’s answer to me is “I am with you, always”, gives me the strength to push forward.

But still, life is hard for everyone, even believers. In John 15:19, Jesus tells us that because we are followers of him, the world will persecute us. But in John 16:33, we are also reminded of God’s power and goodness, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” You see, nothing we go through in this world, we ever face alone. God is always with us.

That alone helps me to persevere through trials. Not because life is easier with God, but because with God, all things are possible, no matter how hopeless the outlook may seem. Perseverance isn’t always pushing through unimaginable trials and hardship; no, it’s simpler than that. It’s showing up when you’d rather give up. It’s choosing to love even after you’ve been hurt, to walk out the door when you’d rather stay in the comfort of your home. I read a quote from Anne Wilson recently, which stated, “Perseverance is choosing to keep on walking, putting one foot in front of the other, because you know who walks beside you.”

When we choose to keep walking, to keep pushing forward when we don’t know if we can, we are showing others our Jesus. In Hebrews 12:1, Paul directs us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” By pushing forward in our race, even if we have to crawl, as long as we just keep going, we are showing others our Jesus. We might feel like, “my life’s not that significant, no one’s watching me, no one cares if I keep going or not.” But in fact, the opposite is true. Our life is on a big screen display, not just for those around us, but for the unseen world as well. Angels and demons are hanging on our every move from the bleachers of Heaven and Hell. That might sound really creepy, but it’s true. They are straining their eyes, tuning into our lives, to see what they can learn about God from us. They are watching and listening, waiting to see how we respond to our trials and the hardships we face, watching to see how our Lord helps us. Our life is on full display to the world, seen and unseen. Let’s give them a good show.