Honestly, I don’t want to live like I know God today. I want
tell off that rude person at my job. I don’t feel like praying. I don’t feel
like renewing my mind with the word of God. I want to give up on trusting God to direct my path. I feel stagnant.
Like all the things I should be doing just aren’t going the way I planned. I
want to quit. I want to live my way instead of obeying God. I don’t write this to be negative; just to be honest.
We all have these days…well I can’t speak for you but I know I have these days.
Days when I question God’s will for my life. Days when I look around and it
seems like everyone else is moving forward and I feel stuck in the mud. I
decided to write a blog on an uninspired day because I thought maybe someone
else could be encouraged on a day when I’m not feeling it; which would be
awesome! Contrary to my bend toward self-centeredness right now the world is
still spinning and there are still people who are hurting, there are people who
still need to know the love of Jesus and people who need encouragement. My
feelings do not get the final say. They don’t rule me!
So now that I’m done ranting. I want to tell you about a
life lesson I learned over the weekend from a little friend of mine. The lesson
is this: The way we perceive challenges are up to us. We can wallow in
self-pity and bitterness or we can get up and keeping pressing forwarded. Of
course I’m sure you already know this. I’m not telling you anything new. We all
know we have a choice. But there are times when something you already know
comes to life in an unexpected way and you gain a new perspective. That’s what
I want to tell you about. I recently learned this lesson from a child of all
people. Children are so amazing. God has given them the resiliency to keep getting
up even when the odds are against them.
I went to a skating rink with some friends. My friend
brought her 6 year old nephew. His name is Coby. Prior to this day, Coby hadn’t
ever put on a pair of skates in his young life but he was truly convinced he
knew how to skate. It’s safe to say he’s
a pretty confident child! Well after Coby put on the skates we saw immediately he
had no clue how to skate. He couldn’t even stand up on the skates without
falling down every single time. My friend began to teach him and talk to him
about what he needed to do to get better. He took her advice and by the end of
the night he practically didn’t need the kiddie walker thing to get his
balance. He could stand, find his balance, and even turn on the skates by the
time he left. Amazing! He drastically
improved in just a few hours!
Throughout the entire time he fell so many times I literally
quit counting. But every SINGLE time he fell, he would get right
back up without hesitation, complaining, grumbling or whining. I knew for sure
he would throw up both hands and say “I quit this is too hard." But guess what,
it never happened. We were amazed at his tenacity and determination. All the adults admitted we would have given up
long ago. He didn’t quit because he knows something we forget as adults. He understood it was a process to learn
how to skate and the only way he could get better was to get back up and keep
trying! You see, the most amazing quality of this child was that it never
occurred to him to give up.
I used learning to skate as a metaphor for our lives but the
principles still apply. Here are a few key things I learned from watching Coby. These are also biblical principles we can use in our lives as Christians.
- Display confidence. (Psalm 118:6)
- Take wise counsel. (Proverbs 12:20)
- Stay focused. Don’t look to the right or the left. (Deuteronomy 5:31-33)
- 4 Don’t be afraid to fall. (Deuteronomy 31:5-6)
So on days when you feel uninspired does that mean you quit
and walk away from God? NO WAY. Feeling discouraged is just that….feelings. You don’t have to act out what you feel.
It’s true I feel discouraged today but this is just one day. This one day
doesn't define me. God still loves me and guess what He loves you
too whether you have a good day or bad day. God promised you that He started a good work in you and He will see it through to completion. My prayer is that you will be encouraged today to get back up, dust yourself off, and keep pressing forward.
