Pulling Up Short

All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

PULLING UP SHORT, quitting, throwing in the towel, giving up, or walking away—we all want to do it much more than we are willing to admit. So what do you do when you’ve run out of steam but the train station of rest is at the top of the next mountain?

What did the apostle Paul do? He reminded himself and others of the following:

• What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. (Romans 8:18)
• We don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:18)
• I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. (Philippians 3:7-8)
• Dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:13-14)

Paul didn’t look at the task, at the work, or at the suffering. He looked beyond, farther down the trail to the finish line. Are you tired? Do you feel like throwing in the towel? Change your gaze.