Encouragement
I’ve chosen to walk down this path
This journey that’s called Faith;
No matter what the circumstance
No matter what the fate.
I’ve made my choice, I make my stand
My heart is fully set;
I choose to follow Jesus Christ
And there is no regret.
Although the road gets steep and long
So jagged is the path;
And walking becomes difficult
To tempt me to go back.
Or when the road at times descends
Into a valley low;
Through muck and mire I trudge along
Each labored step is slow.
But onward is the task at hand
Regardless of the cost;
In spite of rising obstacles
This path I have not lost.
I’m led by Hands I cannot feel
And Hands I cannot see;
And when I stumble or fall down
These Hands will carry me.
For God has never promised us
A journey free from pain;
But promised if we did walk on
With Christ we then would reign.
So when this journey finally ends
By Faith, in Him, I rest;
No matter where my path has led
This journey’s for my best.
If there is one thing I desire more than any other thing here on earth, it is the desire to live my life, in such a manner, so when I walk through the gates of Heaven, I’ll hear my Savior say, “Well done My good and faithful servant.” I want to know I have done my best to do His will for my life. Those words compel me to keep walking this journey into freedom. They encourage me, no matter what the circumstance is, to keep my faith and trust in Him, and knowing Jesus Christ is my only Hope for this life.
Over the course of this journey, life has thrown many obstacles, and hurdles in my path to complicate my walk, and try to force me to give up. For days, it seems like I climb uphill, every step of the way only to fall back down and start again. There have been plenty of times I’ve grown tired and weary fighting the same battles; I’ve whined, and complained because God has not chosen to free me instantly from my past. I’ve spent weeks, and months wishing for peace and rest, knowing how long the road has been, and how long of a road I still have to travel. I haven’t taken any pleasure facing the facts of my past, and I haven’t enjoyed the turmoil that has taken place inside of me. But, I have faced and dealt with those things for one purpose; that I might be found faithful to endure until I reach my freedom. As I have matured spiritually, I’ve taken some of the lessons I’ve learned in the natural, and applied them to my spiritual journey.
Walking has been my form of exercise for several years now. At one time, I was walking 8-10 miles a day. One spring, several years back, I decided I was going to lose weight or die trying. I thought if I added jogging to my daily routine, the weight would fall off me, and so I began to jog. At first, I couldn’t even run 100 yards before my muscles screamed for relief and my lungs gasped for air. As soon as that would happen, I would give up and resume a fast paced walk. Then recently I began trying to jog further than I ever had before. On a few occasions I ran one mile without stopping, and boy was I proud! I wanted to train myself to jog even further, and it was then that my body refused to cooperate. I tired easily, and the burning sensation in my calves would get the best of me. It seemed easier to walk. For months I continued working out in this manner; struggling to jog and then walking as fast as I could. Then I heard an interview with one of the leading Christian Nutritionists that changed the way I viewed the physical challenges of running.
She stated that athletes, who train for endurance races, run to the point where their bodies want to quit. This is called “The Wall.” After a runner has “hit the wall”, it has been proven, through sheer willpower alone, a runner can continue and go, up to half the distance more, they have already ran, before their body physically gives out. By doing so, they train their bodies to go past the wall and endure the sufferings of long distance running. I was dumbfounded. You mean, on my willpower alone, I can force this body to cooperate with my choice to keep going, even though my muscles are screaming for me to stop? I found out the answer is yes. The very next day I put this theory into practice, and over the next few months, I have taught my body to endure the screaming muscles, endure the sweat, endure the wall, and keep going. By my choice, I can now run anywhere between 2-3 miles, and when my bones aren’t actually aching (which seems to happen more frequently, the older I get) I don’t mind going further. My attitude toward running changed as I forced my body to obey my will. Now, if I can teach my body to obey my will, then anyone can. I learned firsthand, a person’s will power is stronger than their flesh.
In the spiritual, we all need to exercise the same choice of will in order to push past the obstacles, or “Walls” that have been erected in our paths. We must prepare ourselves for the rebellion of our flesh, because believe me, it will happen. It will scream out and demand you give up, and forget the torture of enduring. It will try to convince you to take the path that is easier on your spiritual muscles, where you don’t have to work so hard. And, you must choose to endure. Whenever we give in to the temptation to quit, not only does Satan rejoice over our lack of endurance, but we loose ground in the battle and eventually, we will find ourselves right back at square one, dealing with the same issue, the same feelings, and the same heartache. Let’s face it, whose flesh actually enjoys torture? Wouldn’t we rather sit in our soft, comfy chairs with our feet propped up, relaxing and not worrying whether or not we are out of shape? In an ideal life we could do that, but here in the real world, where our bodies try to call the shots, not only do our physical bodies suffer, but our souls do too. Without the mindset of enduring to the end, we do not have the ability to overcome the obstacles. I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but in this life we will always have obstacles to overcome. A friend of mine once told me, “How are we ever to become over-comer’s, if we have nothing to overcome? How can we ever be more than conqueror’s, if we have nothing to conquer?”
The definition of overcome is to “get the better of” and “gain the superiority.” Overcome suggests getting the better of with difficulty or after hard struggle. In other words, in order to overcome something, it must be done with some degree of difficulty or struggle.
The definition of conquer is to “gain or acquire by force of arms” and “to gain mastery over or win by overcoming obstacles or opposition” and “to overcome by mental or moral power; to be victorious.” To conquer suggest mastering the difficulty or struggle to the point of victory.
If we are to overcome, then we must realize who we are in Christ Jesus and what our purpose is in Him, and we must realize that Satan is trying to convince us this journey isn’t worth the trouble, but Jesus said;
Matthew 10:22 “He who endures to the end shall be saved.”(NKJ)
We can never learn how to overcome, or conquer unless we take the mindset of enduring. The Apostle Paul encourages us to make our bodies a slave to our will, instead of our bodies enslaving our will. Taking a journey to find your freedom in Christ Jesus will be met with many obstacles. Satan doesn’t want you to be free, but Jesus Christ has come to do just that…set you free; but in this quest for freedom, you will be required to walk, and you will be required to endure.
Many of the poems I have written deal with the walls and obstacles I’ve had to face and overcome in order to continue walking this journey for my freedom. At times, the desire to give up was intense; the pain was great, my will was weak, and my confidence low, but deep down in the core of my being, I knew, if I was ever going to be free, I had to keep walking. No matter how painful or how difficult the journey became, I had to keep walking forward, because going back to what I had known was no longer an option. I had come too far. I wanted freedom, and the only way to accomplish that was to keep walking toward the higher calling of Jesus Christ, and I would need endurance if I was to finish.
Every day I must choose to walk with Christ. By the choice of my will, just like when I run past my physical wall, I choose to run past the spiritual walls that block the path I’m on. The fact is, this life is hard; I don’t think anyone doubts that, and all of hell is giving everything it’s got to stop us dead in our tracks so we do not fulfill Gods purpose for our lives. We cannot afford the luxury of being weak. Its tough going, and I know how much it hurts, but choosing to walk forward and enduring, is the only real choice we have. Each of us, if we are called by His name, has the capability of enduring inside of us. He’s called the Holy Spirit. God gave Him to each of us who have made Jesus Christ our Lord, and Savior. The Holy Spirit gives us strength to put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. Through each step and each day, we learn we can endure many things we never thought we could.
I, for one, do not intend to quit. I will endure to the end. I’ve made it through some pretty brutal moments. There have been times when I didn’t think I could endure any more pain, or heartaches, but I have. I’ve had the prayers of a few good friends, and the wisdom of another, to guide me as I keep my forward motion. I want you to realize something too; you have made it this far. You have survived. You’ve lived through the trauma, you’ve lived through the pain, and now you’re on the other side. Now is the time to commit to going forward, away from the trauma, away from the pain, and become more than just a survivor of sexual abuse. Now is the time to overcome.
Walk with me, as I continue this journey for freedom, and you will see the difficulties of this earthly journey pale in comparison to what awaits those who endure.
I promise you Beloved of God, it will be worth it.
© 2006
“Whispers from My Heart” By: Cheryl Thompson
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