“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6 …Being diligent is a part of the Christian walk. When God has called us to do something, it’s important that we remain faithful, and carry out the assignments that He has given us. Today’s blog entry is “Be Diligent”.
The 2012 Olympics will be starting soon. There will be a many different athletes, representing many different countries, competing in a number of sports/events. And while the athletes may come from different walks of life, one thing that they have in common, is that they had to earn a spot to compete in the Olympics. To compete at that level, it takes a lot of hard work. Many of the athletes may have faced challenges/barriers along the way (such as not qualifying for a past Olympics, injuries, etc), however if they wanted to compete, it was important for them to overcome those challenges and continue making progress.
In our walk with Christ, it’s important that we do not give up on the things that we have been called to do. If we’re facing a challenge, we shouldn’t be afraid, and we shouldn’t get depressed. We should cast our cares upon Jesus. We should also spend time in prayer seeking God for a solution. The Bible let us know that Jesus constantly spent time in prayer when He was on earth.
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” – Mark 1:35
It’s important that we examine ourselves, and be honest about the things that we need to improve about ourselves. In some cases (not all cases), the reason that we haven’t advanced and achieved certain things, could be because we have an unresolved issue in our life that needs to be addressed. For example, say there’s a talented high school basketball player who plays point guard. His goal is to be the best point guard in the state, and get recruited by a top level college basketball program. He’s a hard worker, and he has a lot of skill, however he’s right handed, and he hasn’t taken the time to develop his left handed ball handling skills. As a result of this, the defenders from opposing teams are able to limit what this player can do by forcing him to go to his left handed side. He eventually starts receiving recruitment letters from different colleges; however he doesn’t get recruited by the colleges that he had on the top of his list. At that point he has the option to get upset, and try to convince himself that the coaches are “hating on him”. Or he can take an honest look at his game, and start to put a lot of time into developing his left hand. Likewise, in life we have the option to blame things on others, or work to improve areas that we have previously been weak in.
There are also times where a person can obey God, make good decisions, and yet still go through some very challenging things. The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis (You can read about Joseph in chapters 37-50 of the book) gives a lot of insight on this. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, and ended up selling him. Joseph became a slave, and spent many years dealing with challenging things. However, Joseph was eventually placed in a very powerful position in Egypt, and was able to help his family during a time of famine. God sees things that we can’t see, and it’s important for us to endure the process that He’s taking us through. We need to maintain our integrity, and be determined to obey God, regardless of what other people have to say about it. Things may not be going the way you planned, but don’t give up. Endure the process. Be diligent!
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” – Galatians 6:9
The 2012 Olympics will be starting soon. There will be a many different athletes, representing many different countries, competing in a number of sports/events. And while the athletes may come from different walks of life, one thing that they have in common, is that they had to earn a spot to compete in the Olympics. To compete at that level, it takes a lot of hard work. Many of the athletes may have faced challenges/barriers along the way (such as not qualifying for a past Olympics, injuries, etc), however if they wanted to compete, it was important for them to overcome those challenges and continue making progress.
In our walk with Christ, it’s important that we do not give up on the things that we have been called to do. If we’re facing a challenge, we shouldn’t be afraid, and we shouldn’t get depressed. We should cast our cares upon Jesus. We should also spend time in prayer seeking God for a solution. The Bible let us know that Jesus constantly spent time in prayer when He was on earth.
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” – Mark 1:35
It’s important that we examine ourselves, and be honest about the things that we need to improve about ourselves. In some cases (not all cases), the reason that we haven’t advanced and achieved certain things, could be because we have an unresolved issue in our life that needs to be addressed. For example, say there’s a talented high school basketball player who plays point guard. His goal is to be the best point guard in the state, and get recruited by a top level college basketball program. He’s a hard worker, and he has a lot of skill, however he’s right handed, and he hasn’t taken the time to develop his left handed ball handling skills. As a result of this, the defenders from opposing teams are able to limit what this player can do by forcing him to go to his left handed side. He eventually starts receiving recruitment letters from different colleges; however he doesn’t get recruited by the colleges that he had on the top of his list. At that point he has the option to get upset, and try to convince himself that the coaches are “hating on him”. Or he can take an honest look at his game, and start to put a lot of time into developing his left hand. Likewise, in life we have the option to blame things on others, or work to improve areas that we have previously been weak in.
There are also times where a person can obey God, make good decisions, and yet still go through some very challenging things. The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis (You can read about Joseph in chapters 37-50 of the book) gives a lot of insight on this. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, and ended up selling him. Joseph became a slave, and spent many years dealing with challenging things. However, Joseph was eventually placed in a very powerful position in Egypt, and was able to help his family during a time of famine. God sees things that we can’t see, and it’s important for us to endure the process that He’s taking us through. We need to maintain our integrity, and be determined to obey God, regardless of what other people have to say about it. Things may not be going the way you planned, but don’t give up. Endure the process. Be diligent!
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” – Galatians 6:9