It was over two years ago that I decided that if I was going to take this blogging thing seriously than there needed to be some sort of regularity to my posts. A few months later I announced my goal of posting every weekday. It seemed like a good goal, and at first, I set about it with gusto. My previous infrequent schedule meant that I had several posts waiting to be written that I just hadn’t gotten to yet. The discipline of a new post every weekday helped ensure that those ideas saw the light of day. Responses from readers encouraged me that God was using them to accomplish something in people’s lives.
However, as with almost any effort of discipline, there can come a time where the shine of newness fades, where the work gets harder and the rewards seem fewer. Rising early or staying up late to get the posts done can cause one to ponder whether its worth the effort. I contemplate whether I will run out of things to write about and what I will blog about the day that I do. The days, weeks and months ahead of continued faithfulness to my commitment can seem burdensome and overwhelming.
And it’s not just in writing that these concerns are faced. I supposed it is the same with many things that we ask God for, which He has given, and in which we encounter challenges over time. The job that we prayed for, the spouse that we longed for, the child we hoped for, the leadership position that we thought was rightly ours – all of these are begun with joy over the request graciously granted, and yet as the days, months and years march on, their luster can fade.. The continuation of the task seemingly overwhelms the satisfaction of “completing” it with excellence. “Quitting while you are ahead” begins to seem like a good idea.
Until the faithfulness of God is remembered.
The One who brought the good gift – the marriage, the job, the child, the leadership position, the blog – will faithfully equip His follower to continue serving Him with excellence through it (See Phil. 1:6, Eph. 2:10) . Conditions and circumstances may change, but He will not (James 1:17). The One who started you on the journey will give you what you need to finish it with excellence – based on His timing, not on your inclination or weariness.
And even when the task seems burdensome and the responsibility overwhelming, when the days are long and the effort hard, there is joy in remembering that if God has called you to it, He will give you what you need to continue in it. The One who faithfully provided the gift, will faithfully provide the perseverance to continue bringing Him glory through it. And ultimately it is His continued faithfulness, and not our feeble abilities, upon which we must depend.