Did you know that you’re a lot like water? I am, too. A stream of water will take the path of least resistance as gravity directs it along. People are the same.
Life is full of hurt and we are very good at protecting ourselves and avoiding conflict if we can help it.
Whether you’re struggling to keep at a goal, wrestling through relational turmoil, or a great number of other things, there is a constant battle between giving up or pushing on.
“Maybe there’s something you’re afraid to say, or someone you’re afraid to love, or somewhere you’re afraid to go. It’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt because it matters.”
-John Green
It is easier to hate than love and to eat than abstain or monitor. In the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, “Dying is easy, young man, living is harder.”
When given a choice, it is humanity’s natural instinct to pick the lesser price, but the best things are often the hardest to obtain or keep.
To repeat Bob Marley’s words, “If she’s amazing, she won’t be easy. If she’s easy, she won’t be amazing. If she’s worth it, you won’t give up. If you give up, you’re not worthy.”
Great relationships aren’t great because they don’t have problems. They’re great because both people care enough about the other person to find a way to make it work.
Besides, how are you supposed to enjoy the destination if you don’t put any work into the journey? Great things take time.
- Monet grew his gardens before he painted them
- The meals that take the longest to prepare are the most satisfying
- The relationships that make it through hard seasons are the strongest and richest
It is easier to give up than keep going, but we must.
Don’t Give Up
The plot of one of my favorite musicals gets pretty bleak for most of its characters yet hangs on to this theme all the more. As those miserables sing in the finale, “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
It was the same for Jesus. He, more undeserving than you or I could ever be, went through the most severe execution a criminal could acquire in the ancient world…because He knew what lay on the other side.
Billions upon billions of people now have the opportunity to live forever in the new kingdom because our Savior took care of the debt we could never pay off. As my favorite children’s ministry skit lines go…
“That must have been so hard for Him to obey.”
“But look at all the good that came as a result!”
The best things have the biggest price. Jesus paid the ultimate price for the best thing and we are called to make smaller but still difficult payments throughout our lives.
Marriage is a lifetime of saying “you first,” the discomfort of being active or discipline of eating well must be endured to stay fit, and many hours of work are required to make a big purchase, but all lead to wonderful and lasting results if they are stuck with.
Life changes. You lose love. You lose friends. You lose pieces of yourself that you never imagined would be gone. And then, without you even realizing it, these pieces come back. New love enters. Better friends come along. And a stronger, wiser you is staring back in the mirror. No matter how bad it gets, better days are always waiting, hoping you’ll make it there to accept the smiles and joy that they’re offering.
Everything is going to be alright. Maybe not today, but eventually. Chances are you have yet to experience your best hug, hardest laugh, or greatest day.
“The pain that you’ve been feeling can’t compare to the joy that’s coming.”
-Romans 8:18
When you are experiencing a trial, whether trivial or heartwrenching, you are allowed to scream and cry, but do not give up. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.