Determination

Mark 2:3-4

      Perseverance is one thing that so many lack today. I like to define perseverance as the ability to stick with a task, project, goal, or dream until it is accomplished, even in the face of opposition or difficulty. It takes determination to persevere. It is easy to get discouraged and give up. But the most successful people in any endeavor in life have learned to stick with it. They have learned that almost anything can be accomplished if you are determined to make it happen.

      Our text today tells about a group of men who were determined to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They were not going to let anyone or anything stand in their way. We don’t know how far they traveled. We do know they heard about Jesus’ powers to heal and they wanted that healing for their friend. We don’t know how this man was paralyzed. We don’t know how long he had been like this. We do know that his friends would not let anything stand in their way.

      I can picture them carrying their friend on that mat. They approach the place where Jesus is preaching and they try to push their way through the crowd, but the crowd won’t yield. They are not the only ones who want to get close to Jesus and hear what He has to say. They try another approach and it fails as well. And then one of them has an idea: let’s go around back, climb up the stairs on the outside of the house and dig through the flat roof! At first it seems a little “out there,” but the more they think about it, the better it sounds. They don’t think too long, they act. They rush around the back of the house, up the stairs and begin digging.

      Meanwhile below them Jesus is teaching. The teaching probably came to a stop as the noise of the digging was heard. Whispers about what could be happening move around the gathered crowd. First the sod is removed. Then the dirt gets moved, followed by the straw and sticks. The dust and debris fall in on top of those gathered inside the house and sunlight cuts through the dust and straw filled air. Then the final largest sticks are removed. At this point all eyes are looking at the hole in the ceiling.

      And then there is an unseen commotion above the hole. Then the sunlight is interrupted and the hole fills with an unknown object. Grunts are heard as muscles strain at lowering this object. Once the object passes through the hole everyone can see that it is a mat with a man on it that has been thrust into their midst. Now they know what all the commotion was about.

      This was determination. They could have stopped at the first obstacle. They could have looked at the journey and said that it was too far, carrying their friend. When they saw the crowd and realized that they would have to push their way through, they could have turned around and gone home. When they tried to get through the crowd and were unable, homeward they could have been. But they didn’t give up. They climbed the stairs, dismantled the roof without any tools, and then lowered their friend. They didn’t bring rope for lowering, so they had to improvise, perhaps using their own garments as extensions of their grip. They were determined to help their friend.

       How determined are you to accomplish God’s purpose in your life? Have you given up on following His call because you face a few obstacles?

The Land of a Thousand Excuses

Proverbs 15:19

      Do you know some folks who always have an excuse for everything? Maybe they have really bad luck, but often they are just lazy. They get in the habit of avoiding any movement at all by complaining about the difficulties they encounter along the way. First there was this problem, then this other problem popped up. They never have a clear path.

      And then there are other people traveling the same road, but they seem to avoid all the pitfalls. They sail right along. They get so much more accomplished. They become successful.

      Are thorns really able to hold someone back, keeping them from continuing their journey? Can’t you push your way through them? You may get some scratches in the process, pain that accompanies the journey, but in the end, thorns can’t prevent you from continuing. You could also go around, perhaps taking a detour, expending a little more energy and time, but still arrive at your destination.

      If you really want to get somewhere, you can find a way. Being familiar with the military, I know how to do Land Navigation. You are given a series of points on a map, given a compass and map protractor and told to find all the points, write down the specific ID for each point, and return to the starting place in a specific timeframe.

      Here in Georgia, land navigation can be especially difficult. This time of year the thorns are full grown, the swamps still have water in them, and it is HOT. It can be easy to see the points on the map and get discouraged as you pull yourself out of another tangle. And all the while the clock continues to tick. Every soldier in the military must learn how to do this. It is one of the most basic soldier skills.

      The best way to find the points is not to take a straight line between each one, but rather to find the points on the map and then use the roads to get as close to possible to those points before entering the think woods. You avoid many of the difficulties of the journey this way. But it requires thinking and planning in order for this to work.

      Next time you encounter a few thorns, push through, go around, but continue moving. It can be almost impossible to get moving once you stop. Discouragement can make your feet feel like lead.