IMO: You Should Just Give Up - Thursday
2 Corinthians 4:11-12
Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best! (MSG)
We’ve been talking about failure this week, and yesterday, we talked about some of the Apostle Paul’s failures. I think that a primary reason he so successfully navigated through the land mines of life was perspective; he developed an uncanny ability to put everything in perspective. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a particular attitude toward, or way of regarding something; a point of view.” Paul had it in spades. Do you? By the way, it’s all over the Bible. Read the Psalms; they bleed perspective. For starters, check out Psalm 1.
But back to Paul. Some of the leaders in the early church called themselves “super-apostles.” Not Paul. While others talked about all-stars, Paul talked about his scars… the blessings in bruises, the possibilities in dead ends, the victories in defeat. Perspective does stuff like that and changes everything. It has a twin-sister, by the way: persistence. And together, the two are immensely powerful.
Every hear of Diana Nyad? On August 31, 2013, she did something that no one else had ever done: She swam from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida… without a shark cage. After four unsuccessful attempts, all the pundits, including some of her closest friends, advised her to give it up. Guess what? She didn’t. And on the 5th try, she made it—64 years old; 53 hours in the water; 200,000 swimming strokes. Can you imagine?
Here’s what she said to fans and critics alike: “I never knew I’d suffer the way I did. It was often unbearable, but I knew it was temporary, so I kept going. All I’ve said to myself these past few years was, “Find a way. Find a way.” She added, “With each stroke, my left hand pushed Cuba away, and my right hand pulled Florida closer.”
Thursday’s Reflection
I love that: Push Cuba away, pull Florida closer. Allow me to make an application: All that horrible stuff that happened to you in the past? Friend, it happened—past tense. Push it away, and pull Jesus close. The final chapter of your story hasn’t been written yet, and God can and will redeem it all. I promise.
