When is it time to give up?
I remember watching my son Noah when he was 4 years old, trying desperately to ride his bike for the first time. It was the best and worst of moments because his initial excitement gradually became sadness. The harder he tried, the worse he did. As he watched his twin sister take command of her bike and ride all over the cul-de-sac, freely and with ease, the general feeling he exhibited was that of sadness, disappointment and frustration. With a huff and puff, he got off his bike and walked it back to the house, and parked it next to the back gate. He didn't ride it again for some time.
Nowadays, Noah rides his bike hard! He has one of those cool bikes that looks like a motorcycle and he looks awesome as he flies up and down the pavement. His finest moments occur when he's riding over sidewalk cracks and down bumpy asphalt. It's an awesome sight to behold and makes this mama's heart truly grateful.
The thing you don't see, however, is the 5 years between these two stark moments. For many years, Noah underwent physical and occupational therapy to help him with his motor skills and lower body strength. The same activities which his twin sister took to so easily were extremely difficult for him. And every milestone represented untold hours of work to attain. In short, he climbed mountains for years before he ever saw the satisfaction of riding that bike with ease. He was an overcomer and long-hauler, and I admire his tenacity so much!
So often in our faith we come up against battles that others seem to overcome easily. For some, it is painful to live as a single person. For others, it is heart-wrenching to undergo the trial of infertility. There are those with broken relationships and those with troubled marriages, and throughout it all, we compare ourselves and see how we measure up to those who seemingly jump over the hurdles of life with ease. And when we are faced with the struggle of just getting to the point where we can attempt to overtake our difficulties we often face a period of time where we just want to give up. The journey is too costly or long, and it doesn't feel like we will ever get to the point where success is within reach. And during those times, the question often arises:
"Why don't I just give up already?"
Those words are so insidious. They make us feel that we, alone, carry the burden of success and the blame for failure. When we ask ourselves why we shouldn't give up, we are forgetting a very important, radically different approach to life detailed in Matthew 11:
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
In this passage, Jesus doesn't say, "get your act together and come back to me when you're as accomplished as so-and-so". He also doesn't place blame, or say, "I can't believe you're weary again."
Instead, Jesus directs us to acknowledge that exhaustion is a burden, and that the weight of our troubles is something we can ask Him to take upon Himself. He tells us to give it to Him and let Him trade His own yoke for ours! It is a radical shift from the idea that our choices are to a) work hard to make it happen or b) give up.
In Jesus' eyes, we succeed when we give Him the right to take over and give us rest. We achieve the greatest by giving Him our mess and taking on His goodness, grace, hope. In truth, we find that it isn't the hard work that makes the joy come. It is exchanging the burden and responsibility of being successful for the goodness of resting in God and trusting Him to accomplish a good work in us and through us.
How many times have I read that passage and thought, "Oh, yeah! Jesus can take my burden!" And in those moments my hope is renewed.
When Noah underwent PT and OT to help him learn to ride a bike, he wasn't alone. There was a specialist right along side him every time he worked on his balance, or worked on motor skills. He had someone beside him, cheering him on and giving him wisdom every time he went to his appointments! On top of that, we learned how to help him because we were taught by his therapists as well!
When we let Jesus take our burden, we allow Him to become our source of encouragement, wisdom and energy, and eventually we overcome those mountains that are initially too huge to even imagine navigating! All because He is doing a good work in us. When Jesus becomes our champion, it is His overcoming spirit that comes to live in us! So, next time you are facing an obstacle, don't ask yourself if it's time to give up. Instead, ask yourself if it's time to give your burden to the One who can take it and shape it into something entirely new and different! And then watch out, because in the aftermath, there will be joy.
Peace to you and prayers for hope in every trial.
Yours,
-Sharon-
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