Spiritual Grit
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Luke 6:21
Jenny had given her life to Jesus two years ago in a prison cell and had learned to trust Him for almost everything—almost. She’d been out three months now and was still unemployed. She was living out of a homeless shelter, spending most of each day walking or taking the bus to area employers, seeking work. Her prison record kept her from getting a decent job, and she didn’t know what to do next. Temporary jobs provided just enough to survive. But she was tired of just surviving.
On her knees in prayer tonight, she was asking God to direct her to where she needed to be. She was still learning this praying and listening thing. Jenny had never cared much about life before knowing Jesus. She’d always gotten what she’d needed by hustling tricks. This honest living stuff was difficult.
At that moment, she felt God speak to her heart. “You let Me embrace you in prison, Jenny. Will you embrace Me now?” She crawled into bed, thanking God that tomorrow would bring her another day closer to Him. She felt peace descend just as sleep overtook her.
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There is a misconception that the Christian life should be easy, a life devoid of misery and pain. But it’s not—and for good reason. If it were, the whole world would become followers of Jesus. Christianity would be a wholesale religion; it would have no power or meaning.
God is a rewarder of those who show spiritual grit. He honors those commitments because He knows what following His Son has cost each of us. Falling down does not make us failures, nor is it fatal. Get up! The bumps we acquire over our spiritual journey will be put to use for the kingdom. There is nothing that rivals the satisfaction of a clear conscience and the knowledge we are following the King. No pain is so great that it can shadow the truth.
Prayer
“Lord, when we weep, catch our tears. When we laugh, hear our joy; when we fall, take our hand; as we grow, show us more. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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