Category: Persistence

Encouragement

He Will Feed His Flock

Do you need encouragement? This morning my friend Pastor Jerry Beebe posted: “The problem with pity parties is very few people come, and those who do don’t bring presents.” – Zig Ziglar

While he is famous for posting humorous jokes and puns, Jerry is also one of the best encouragers I know.  We don’t need another pity party, but from time to time, we all need encouragement. We all like to be encouraged. We all need to be encouraged. Courage is the root of encouragement.

The word courage comes from the Latin “cor,” meaning “heart.” In the book, “Encouraging The Heart,” the authors state, “To have courage means to have heart. Richard I, King of England from 1189 to 1199 was glorified for his courage. What did the troubadours call him? Richard the Lion-Hearted.” 

The prefix “en” means, “cause to be.” So to encourage someone is to cause them to have courage, to take heart. On the other hand, the prefix “dis” means, “to take away from.” If you are discouraged, you’ve lost courage or heart.

If you’ve ever been discouraged (and we all have), you know how it can rob you of your strength. Like the wolves Jesus talked about in John 10, discouragement is a professional thief, relieving you of more than just your strength. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it and steals your optimism, your faith, your vitality, your zeal, your joy, your peace, and your contentment. 

If discouragement takes up residence for long, its friends from the wolf pack will come for a visit. You are familiar with them: anxiety, fatigue, hopelessness, despair, self-pity, depression, doubt, and bitterness. Unless you resist, this pack of wolves will claim squatter’s rights and take up permanent residence. They will hold you captive in your own home and rob you of courage to persevere.

Discouragement brings dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is displayed through ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity about tomorrow. It blinds us to the presence of God, the needs of our neighbors, and the promises of Scripture – like this one: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The LORD your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT) 

Remember, the Lord is your shepherd. And the closer we are to the shepherd, the safer we are from the wolves, including the wolf of discouragement.

© 2018 Don Detrick

Dealing With Life’s Most Persistent Question – Part 2

Snoqualmie Trail along Snoqualmie River Mt Si Background 3-20-15For most of us, the quest for answers continues long after the storm has passed. And that lingering, most persistent question consistently nags at your heart and soul. At a time when your troubled soul pines for consistency and order, you instead experience a chaos of emotions and the only consistent thing seems to be a flashback to traumatic events accompanied by the search for a cause: “Why?”

Long after you have organized the pertinent details (the who, what, where, when, and how) into a tidy corner of your mind, you just cannot seem to find an adequate compartment to fit the enormous tension contained in that tiny three-lettered word, “Why?”

  • Why did this happen?
  • Why did this happen to me?
  • Why didn’t God prevent it?
  • Why couldn’t I have seen it coming?
  • Why was I so careless?
  • Why didn’t someone warn me?
  • Why can’t I get over this?

Don’t get me wrong. Why is an important question. Maybe life’s most important question when asked in the context of, “Why am I here?” Defining the answer to that question helps provide purpose in life–an essential ingredient for a fulfilling existence. And as Simon Sinek reminds us in his best-selling business book, Start With Why, if you don’t know why you won’t know how, and may not fully understand what, either.  This truth pertains to individuals as well as businesses and organizations.

Why explores the reasons behind what we do. Why searches for intent and motivation. But why can also indicate a quest for placing blame or shame. And that is frequently the application when it comes to dealing with the grief of disappointment, catastrophe, or loss. We want a reasonable explanation for the chaos in our hearts and lives. We want to know who is responsible, to resolve our own angst. Once that is settled, we are on the path toward acceptance. This is where we can place the answer to “Why?” in its proper compartment and move on, and eventually the sharp edges of that memory will no longer cause the same kind of prickly pain we initially experienced.

So, what are the persistent questions you are dealing with in your life? How are you dealing with them? Why are you still stuck? Who can you confide in? What are you afraid of? What will it take for you to move on? What is God asking you to do?  And above all, remember this:  YOU WILL GET BETTER. THINGS WILL CHANGE. We’ll explore this further in the next post.

Persistence

Persistence - pansy in concrete w copyrightI did a double take when I saw it. A single yellow pansy blooming in the driveway. Certainly nobody planted it there, yet somehow a seed took root. And there it was, its sweet pansy face peeking up from a crack in the concrete. I had to stop and take a photo of a literal “bloom where you are planted” story.

How often do I complain about how the present location isn’t ideally suited to take root, bloom, and produce? Or maybe the timing isn’t right. Or maybe I just don’t have enough time. Besides, everybody knows you can’t grow pansies in concrete cracks. Of course, weeds seem to flourish there. But here was a pansy staring me in the face and reminding me that against all odds, and even without ideal circumstances or conditions, blooming is indeed a possibility. The flower’s beauty and contrast with its harsh concrete surroundings was both stunning and defying the logic of my conventional wisdom.

Persistence. Patience. Possibility. These are the makings of everyday miracles. Stick with it. Don’t give up. And don’t stop believing. What do Olympic athletes have in common? Certainly some degree of natural skill and ability. Beyond that, they stick with it. They don’t give up. And they don’t stop believing they can win. In spite of the daily grind requiring long hours of practice, blistered bodies, bruised egos, and tired muscles, they persevere. And the most persistent usually take home the gold.

The same could be said for virtually every worthwhile pursuit. You could become proficient in a foreign language by studying a few minutes a day. Every day. For a long time. You could become a good pianist if you take lessons every week, practice 30 minutes every day, and do so over an extended period of time.

You’ll need to up the ante if you want to become a concert pianist, and very few do–really want to, that is. Because if you just want to a little, it won’t happen. You have to want to a lot, and then act accordingly. Persistently. Consistently. For a very long time. Despite less than ideal circumstances. Despite distractions. Despite sacrificing personal comfort.

What do you want to do? What is keeping you from accomplishing that dream? Persistence. Patience. Possibility. You can do it. You can find freedom from your circumstances and limitations. Just look at the photo of the pansy emerging from its concrete prison and let your dreams bloom right where you are planted. God, who specializes in making the impossible possible, can help you overcome adversities that you cannot conquer on your own.

It’s not an easy road. Easy roads are paved with good intentions and filled with potholes of adversity. Easy roads have weeds growing in the cracks. The road less travelled is paved with persistence, patience, and possibility. The potholes of adversity are still there, but the traveler choosing that route might just be greeted with the face of an unexpected pansy along the way.