“Oh no, oh no, oh no!”, I said to myself as I went to plug my external payment device into my phone. I was setting up to vend at an event and lo and behold I found myself between a rock and a hard place. I forgot that my new phone was not compatible with the reader.
Now earlier that day I had already experienced the AC failing on me while driving in 90 degree weather, driving 55 miles to and from dropping my children off so I could attend this event and the car not starting up after I stopped to get cash.
So when I came upon this challenge I was nearly undone. But I held my resolve. I grabbed my keys and drove to the nearest mobile phone store. They had the adapter but it was grossly overpriced. So I proceeded to the nearest five and dime as my grandma would call it. Much to my delight they had the adapter.
Sweaty with no AC but adapter in hand I raced back to the event. I was looking forward to sharing the hope of my book, Purposeful Parenting with this church full of mothers. I plugged in the adapter, and…..nothing.
That’s right. NOTHING. IT.DID.NOT.WORK.
“Forget it, I’ll just pack up and go home,” I told myself because in that moment giving up was so much easier. I had had ENOUGH!
“This is ridiculous.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Why God?”
My internal rant was quickly getting the best of me until God spoke. “Are you committed?”
To which I responded with my continued internal temper tantrum. And very lovingly He asked me again, “Are you committed?”
Feeling dejected, I took a walk to the restroom to mull over the question. As I let a tear slip from my eye, I was wracked with frustration for being willing to give up so easy because being committed in the hard spaces was not new to me.
Two months into my 1st year of college my mother died suddenly. I went back to my home state to regroup but one month later I returned to school. The very next year, mother’s younger brother died. I was ravaged with hurt but I persevered. The very next year, my mother’s sister, the aunt with whom I used to live died also. Back to back to back; mama, uncle, auntie, all gone. But my commitment remained.
So staring into the face of my current “wanna give up”, I was sandwich between tenacity and grit. With my feet firmly planted on the Chief Cornerstone, coupled with a Phone-A-Friend, I decided to stay committed. I decided to not give up when in that moment giving up felt like it would have been so much easier.
And may your hearts be fully committed to the LORD our God. 1 Kings 8:61a
A sweet sister in Christ, Linda Mendable told me when giving up seems easier than staying committed you’ve got to have Great Resolve In Turbulence, GRIT.
There’s no way around it. Carrying out your kingdom mandate is going to be tough. You will face situations where giving up seems so much easier. But during these times I encourage you to remember, GOD IS THERE!
And not only is He there, He loves you. And not only does He love you, He believes in you. And not only does He believe in you, He’s empowering you by way of the Holy Spirit within you. You have proven yourself faithful, so He’s committed great works into your care.
So how do we stay committed?
- You have to remember that God is for you. Even when the situation doesn’t feel good to your flesh, He’s working it together for your good.
- Look for God in the situation. Ask Him, “What am I supposed to learn from this?”
- Remember your “why”.
- Positive self-talk. Tell yourself, “You can!” “You will!”
- Phone-A-Friend. When in crisis, send out an SOS.
You have to be committed to what has been committed into your care and custody. God has placed special things in your trust, to be kept, guarded, protected, developed and eventually disseminated so that it will reproduce after its own kind.
What has He committed into your care?
- Financial Blessings
- Children
- Leadership
- Spiritual Gifts
- Artistic Abilities
Giving up might seem easier in the moment but staying committed will reap great dividends for the kingdom.
Commit your activities to the LORD, and your plans will be achieved. Proverbs 16:3
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
