II Timothy 2:3
Hey Everyone~
I’m not sure
where I ever got the idea that life would be easy…I want to be strong, but I
don’t want to have to lift the weight or push my comfort zone. Obviously, it doesn’t work that
way…obviously. The other day God gave me a picture of life, as simple as it
sounds, that has helped me endure when I’ve wanted to give up.
Driving to an
appointment recently, I managed to hit almost every green light. In rare form I sailed through intersections
without hindrance. Traffic flowed at the
perfect pace and all was well with the world!
I made the mistake of equating my driving ease with confirmation of
God’s will for my life. Crazy I know… I
said, “God, this must be your will for my life!
You have blown open every door and made it simple for me today.”
As soon as the
words formulated in my thoughts it dawned on me the error of my
assumption. So began the dialogue with
me, myself and I. Me started if off with
a chuckle, “Wait a minute Rebecca… Are you saying, if you hit a red light you’d
just turn around and go home?”
I responded, “Well,
no. I hate red lights, but I know if I
will just be patient eventually it will turn green and I’ll move forward
towards my destination.”
Myself added, “You do realize that if you did turn around every time you hit a red light
you’d probably never get home anyway.
Chances are the other lights on the pathway home would not all be green
and you’d be caught in no mans land, giving up and turning around each time you
hit a light.”
Time for a
new thought process…Just because I hit red lights along the path of life
doesn’t mean it’s time to turn around and head back. I need the discipline and focus to push
through those times or I’ll never reach the destination God has prepared for
me. One huge point my husband Ronnie
reminded me of as I relayed to him my newly discovered understanding is the
fact that red lights often protect us from disaster. My cousin Daniel chimed in by asking me to
name one hero in history or the Bible that turned around or quit when the going
got tough. I couldn’t. That’s because to achieve God’s plan for your
life will require a sense of determination not to quit just because it gets
uncomfortable.
Today, as I
type, I am facing problems and situations I’d like to chunk into the pond. Anyone
else?! I’d rather just turn my life
around to remove myself from the situation.
And at times God does place roadblocks in our life or lets us know the
bridge is washed out and we must turn back.
But there is a huge difference between a red light and a roadblock. I don’t want to turn around when the going
gets tough or things don’t move as quickly as I’d like. I want to do as Paul encouraged Timothy in II
Timothy 2:3, “Thou therefore endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
I can endure because He’s not sending me out
on this journey of life solo! He’s
always with me and I rest in that fact. So today, I’ll endure patiently through the red lights in my life. I’ll push forward knowing that God’s got
this! He is with me and will get me to
the place He wants me, right on time!
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