In 2008, one of the first verses I learned and one of the first few God spoke into my Christian journey. It jumps back into my mind today.
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces persevereance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." - Romans 5:3
Was at prayer meeting tonight. God spoke straight to my heart.
Many things have been drawing me down. Yvonne says I always look happy so it's hard to know what I'm feeling.
There's been good, and there's been the not so good.
I've been wanting to give up.
To give up on the successes, the ministries, the callings, and the dreams. Too many disappointments. Some resentment. Some questions. Some discouragements. Was once labouring with hope. Now labouring seemed tough. Was once filled with faith. Now the faith flame is dying.
Was fired up to do it together. Yet together seemed far away.
But having said that, this season, I am constantly reminded by the prophecy about me. I looked at my life now, and find it far from what was prophesied. Because I've been thinking of giving up...
No... no give up Shannon!
Once again, this day, I was reminded of the verse a prisoner in Manila City Jail gave to me. Just as I was going to leave, he approached me and shared this verse with me. And I shared it in one of my earlier entries this year.
"...I
do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)
It seemed as though God already prepped me up for this year's challenge.
Two weeks ago I embarked on one of the hardest mountain hikes I've ever done in my life. According to the Department of National Parks QLD, I climbed a Class 5 mountain. Whao!
In a quick summary, I would say I learned a lot through that hike. Prior to the hike, I was all excited about conquering the mountain! It would be awesome.. breathtaking, and rewarding. But just when I embarked on the first kilometer up, I saw how high the mountain was, how steep the climb to begin, and there were no tracks...!! I was already thinking, I can't do this.
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| Pant pant pant... puff... help... |
And though there were the months before where I have been physically training for it, at some point in time, I did decide to give up long hours of cardio training in exchange for shorter spurts of strength training, thinking that I needed the strength to climb that mountain. So, the cardio did drag me down. Had I persevered through the ritualistic and long hours of cardio training, I might have been able to do the mountain easily.... maybe.
The gear - I was in jeans! Alright, I had proper hiking shoes, and that did work to my advantage eventually. Jeans... not the best choice, but I found out that as I persevered the jeans did eventually do its job, maybe got more scratches than it needed to.. and got pretty dirty.
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| Every rock is steep and high... |
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| Surfacing and making it through two big rocks to smile at the camera.... lol. |
Not even halfway, I decided.. I might stop and let my friends climb up. But they didn't abandon me. They stood by and I told myself, we are a team! I need to tell myself I can do it, and keep going.
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| Rarrr, c'mon Shannon, you can do it!! |
I even ran out of water... and didn't carry any food up there! Thank God, my friends had them....
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| Had to do this... when you get up there... that's what you should really do. LOL |
Eventually, I made it to the top. It was rewarding.. and it would have been a shame if I gave up. Would I try it again... yes, after more training and preparation too.
Lessons learned:
1. When God gives us a vision, and shows us the promised reward, it can definitely be exciting.
2. Things get hard... we start to want to give up.
3. At times, during the process of getting there, we wondered... if I trained a bit more for it... like, persevered through the lessons God was trying to teach me back then, maybe it would be easier now!
4. God gives us the skills and talents necessary for the journey. Take them with you and use them the right way! (don't wear jeans for hikes!)
5. God brings people to help you along the journey! Don't abandon on yourself, when others haven't given up on you! If you are a friend, don't give up on others who are weak and need a bit more motivation!
6. We all need water for the journey! Jesus is our living water!
7. The reward, is worth the sacrifice.
Much as I constantly sink into the mode of giving up, I'm holding on... cuz the enemy wants me down, but I'mma show him who's on my side. God is! :)
If our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against!
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| Thank You Lord, for the lessons learned in this hike. |
