Ain't Stoppin'

Do you ever just get tired in your walk with God? You know what I’m talking about? You ever just wake up, drag your sorry self into the bathroom, look in the mirror and say to that thing looking back, “Yep, that’s about what I thought.” You know what I mean, right? Your face is puffy, you have dark circles under your eyes, hair all matted in funky positions and just a general crustiness that starts at the corners of your mouth and feels like it goes all the way down into your sad, sagging soul. You feel me on this? You don’t want to get in the Scriptures. You don’t feel like praying. You have no energy to be nice to what’s-his-name in your first class (bless his heart) and you left all your sanctification laying there in the bed before you ever looked in the mirror. Now, I know I’m not the only dude that’s been through this. Sometimes you just get too tired to keep on going in this whole ‘loving Jesus’ thing, and the question is, what do you do when you get like that?

Well, before I even answer that question, Satan is gonna start whispering to you about what a bad Christian you are and try to tell you that when you get worn out Jesus is all disappointed in you; so before that old snake tells you another word, listen up: Jesus is not disappointed in you. Jesus knows you get tired. He knows you are going through a tough time. In fact, Psalm 103 says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” He knows what’s up and He understands your hard times. He cries with you, He writes down your tears, He will never, ever stop loving you, so before we move on, let’s go ahead and cut the head off that little lie right there.

Now, the question was, “What do I do when I am just worn out and over it - too tired to do this whole ‘spiritual walk’ thing?” Well, check this out, a few days ago I was out on a jog and I was out of gas. The sun was hot and the East Tennessee hills were kickin’ my butt. I mean, I was just about to give up and start walking, when a couple stepped onto the sidewalk right in front of me. The lady didn’t see me and almost walked right into me, so I started to hop out of her way when her husband grabbed her, moved her to the side, smiled at me and said, “Honey, watch it... This boy ain’t stoppin’ for nothin’!” And then it happened... I got my second wind. Just like that, with that one little word from that dude, my tank was full and my legs were strong. He saw something in me I didn’t, but when He said it out loud, I kinda swelled up and thought, “That’s right baby! I don’t stop!” The rest of the run was still hard, but I just kept steppin’ and kept saying that thing to myself: “I don’t stop for nothin’!”

There’s a scene in the movie Finding Nemo where Dory starts singing a song that says, “Keep on swimming, keep on swimming, keep on swimming, swimming, swimming.” Folks, a huge part of walking with God is about just putting one foot in front of the the other and keeping on. It’s called endurance and perseverance and the Apostle Paul says that the Holy Spirit is at work in your life to give you just that. (Colossians 1:9-13) Sometimes you are going to feel empty, dry and cold. Here’s what you do: Step. Then step again. Then keep on stepping. This is a walk. Get on up, get in the Scriptures. Talk to God. Just keep on stepping. I promise you the dry season won’t last forever, but you’ve got to walk out of it. The cool thing is, when you just go ahead and persevere, we all see you stepping. Now, you may feel dead on the inside, but we see somebody that ain’t stoppin’ for nothin’!