A couple of weeks ago, I was running 4 miles at a pace that was challenging me and when I got to mile 3, the pace became too challenging to maintain. I started to entertain thoughts that were telling me to quit:
It's too hard.
You've gotta stop.
There's no way you can keep this pace up.
But, by the grace of God, I was able to push those thoughts out of my head and keep going towards my goal. The amazing thing is that it didn't get any harder. It actual got easier. I just had to get over that 3rd mile hump.
Then there was my long run this week. After 13 strong miles, I started to struggle greatly. I went from running a 9-minute per mile pace to stopping and sitting on a park bench, head down and feeling defeated. I had a conversation with myself in my head, trying to decide if I should push on the 7 more miles I needed to finish or if I should call it quits for the day. I was hot, my pace was ruined and my stomach was hurting. Despite having every reason to quit, I decided to press on. At that point, pressing on didn't mean returning to my goal pace, it just meant to keep moving forward. With the encouragement of my brother on his bike next to me, I stumbled, then walked and jogged through the next three miles. But at the start of mile 18, something changed in me. My stomach started to feel better, my posture straightened and my mind started to win over my beaten body. My last three miles were strong and I even finished on pace. If I would have quit after mile 13, I would have never experienced the victory that awaited me in that comeback.
Sometimes we get to a point in a situation when things just get too hard and we don't think we can take another step, let alone keep up the pace. We're defeated, lies start pouring in and we struggle to just keep putting one foot in front of another. But... what if right when things seem so hard that you can't even lift your head... what if at the very moment you're about to give up... what if that's when you're on the verge of a break through? And what would you miss out on if you decide to call it quits?
I know that's just running and I know not everything can be related to the sport. But running isn't the only place I've learned this lesson. I've recently come through a most difficult life situation.
Very. Difficult.
Every day was about putting one foot in front of the other and every day was about just trying to keep pushing on. But, even with that resolve, I came to a place where it just got too hard and I started to entertain thoughts that told me that it was time to give up. Time to stop pressing on towards a victory that I couldn't even see and time to throw in the towel. Again, because of the Lord's grace, I was able to lift my head and push through. And in that, I learned the same lesson that I learned while out on a run. It was when things seemed their worse that I was actually on the edge of a victory. I just had to hang in there, turn that corner and things would improve.
I can't be the only one who wants to quit when things get hard.
Quit on a goal.
Quit on a marriage.
Quit on a wayward child.
Quit on a friendship.
Quit on my pursuit of the Lord.
Quit on the life path the Lord has us on.
Quit on overcoming a stronghold.
But what if... when things are at their very worse, you're really at the threshold of a break though? I think of how many times I've given up right before the sun was about to breakthrough the dark clouds and I wasn't able to see the rainbow that was waiting to stretch across the sky.
I now truly believe that things will often get harder before they get easier. But just as strongly, I believe that they will get easier if we resolve to just hang in there a little longer. Isn't that just what Hebrews 11:1 is referring to when it says. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"? We can't see what the Lord is about to do but we have to trust that He's taking care of it!
So if you feel like you at the point where you just can't hold on any longer and things have gotten so difficult that you just can't go on, remember: Just. Don't. Quit. There may be a breakthrough waiting for you just around the next turn.
