Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/4/12 - Commitment Is Not Supposed To Be Easy

"Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shiver

ed in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm." 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

Everybody who comes to Christ and into recovery as a new soul loves hearing how much better life is as a result of serving God. When everything is going are way it's easy to be committed. But what happens when the pink cloud wears off and we begin to face challenges. Can we be committed then? What happens when life shows up and we find ourselves in a state of uncomfortability even though we are no longer living the way we used to live. What happens when believe we're living to the best of our ability? When we've been the best person we know how to be and we still struggle? Can we be committed then?

The apostle Paul talks about this in the text. When most of look at his life we see the successes, the miracles performed, the souls saved and delivered, the closeness of his relationship with God, but we don't see the struggles. We don't see the hard times. We don't automatically see that wrapped up in the successes are the beatings, the imprisonments, the shipwrecks, the hard work, the long journeys, the false accusations, death threats and even the eventual execution all because of his commitment to his beliefs.

We do the same when we see other successful people. In our minds we see the success as if it just happened without seeing the sacrifices it took to achieve that success. The reality is commitment to anything requires sacrifice. The biggest lie we can tell new Christians and new recovering folk is that life is going to get rosey because you got clean and saved. We will go through stuff because it's a part of life and because the enemy or the "disease" will through every thing he can at you to keep you from the purpose God has for your life. Don't fall for the trap. Be committed to God and to your recovery. Be committed to the divine purpose for your life. Don't run at the first sign of trouble. Don't give up because God hasn't moved fast enough for you. Real commitment isn't supposed to be easy, but it is worth it.