For his unfailing love for us is powerful;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 117:2 NLT)
Last night, we headed to the beach, even though it’s been snowy and cold here lately. The wind coming off the lake was brutally cold, whipping up sand and scattering it across the snowdrifts. “Going to the beach” in January is nothing like the warmth and fun of summer, but the winter beach has its own raw, extreme beauty that most tourists never get to see. After we parked, we walked through a small tunnel from the state park that led out to the lake.
The tunnel isn’t very long—the road above it is only two lanes wide—but the walk from the parking lot to the beach felt like some of the coldest and windiest steps I’ve taken in a long time. I was bundled up in my warmest coat, hat, gloves, pants, and boots, but nature still showed her harsh winter side. The space beneath the road seemed to amplify the icy wind coming off the lake, turning that short stretch into an unbearably cold trek. The sand stung my face, and the biting breeze nipped at any exposed skin, making it hard to move. Did I mention it was cold?
You might be wondering why I was out there in such brutal weather. Well, first off, I had asked my eighteen-year-old to join me for a walk, and when an eighteen-year-old actually agrees to spend time with a parent, you don’t back out just because the weather isn’t perfect. But we weren’t just out for a walk—we had come to catch a glimpse of the fast-moving sunset. What we saw was the breathtaking beauty of the winter beach, the lake, and the clouds.
The sunset was swallowed by the clouds over the lake, but the mix of landscape, seascape, and “sky-scape” was absolutely gorgeous. Totally worth it.
If I hadn’t braved that wintry wind tunnel, I would have missed this stunning display of God’s creativity. Had I decided the tunnel was too long, too cold, or too difficult and turned back, I never would have reached my goal—the beach.
What goal are you working towards that you’re struggling to reach?
That space between the declaration of the goal and the realization of the goal can feel very long and difficult. God promised Abraham a son, but it took twenty-five years for that promise to be fulfilled. Moses promised the Israelites that leaving slavery in Egypt would lead them to the Promised Land, but the journey took forty years. Jesus endured immense suffering and death with the goal of rescuing humanity from sin. A mother may pray for years for a prodigal child to return, and a grandmother may pray for decades for her grandchildren to come to faith. In all these cases, there were—and are—things that had to be patiently endured. If you’re reflecting on your own situation, you probably already know what you’re patiently enduring.
There’s one thing I want to say today: KEEP GOING. Don’t quit! It will be worth it. Keep your eyes on the prize. Be like the woman in Jesus’ story who repeatedly went to the judge for justice (Luke 18:1-7). Endure the frozen wind tunnel to reach a January beach sunset. Keep praying for a loved one to come to faith or return to it. Go to countless doctor appointments and prayer meetings for healing. Keep sharing Jesus’ love and hope with everyone around you. Keep going!
At the women’s conference, a woman shared how she prayed for seventeen years for her son to return to faith. What if she’d given up after sixteen years? What if Abraham, Moses, or Jesus had abandoned their callings? Enduring the struggle between the promise and its fulfillment is hard, but God is faithful, and good friends and encouragers can stand with you and make all the difference.
God,
Thank you for the times in life where we have to endure struggles in order to reach a goal. Thank you for the strength you develop within us in those times. Thank you for your faithfulness to us and that your love endures forever. Help us to trust you as you work out your plans for our lives. Help us to persevere until your appointed end. Bless us with grace and peace, we pray in Jesus’s name. AMEN.
The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. (Psalm 138:8 NLT)