There are days that I curse the hormones and unknown that make up my competitive spirit. I sit half way around the world from my best friend during her birthday and wonder just why I am here and she is there. There are no valid reasons to explain my absence on her birthdays. There is little that I have to offer as validation that the price paid was in some twisted way a gift to her. I cannot explain or even begin to convey what drives me on, relentlessly pursuing a goal, except to say that when I accept a call or enter a journey I am absolutely and totally committed to completing the task and arriving at the journey’s end. In short I am competitive.
I look around me and see that there is a price paid for winning. People in all walks of life pay an extraordinary price to be at the top of their game. Those who compete in any sport or profession at the highest level sacrifice everything that you and I hold dear to get to that level. There are rarely shortcuts; being good or the best requires dedication, sacrifice, and the willingness to endure and then endure some more.
The potential conflict in seeing and responding to God carries the same risk! It is important to realize that knowing God will bring sacrifice and pain front and center in your life. You may be expecting a smooth ride; it will come in the future, but not now. In the immediate life will throw every curve it can at you. God fully understands the price to be paid; he has paid it personally and directly. To each he shouts encouragement.
“Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.” (Revelation 2.10)
I wish it could be different but it is a war out here. God offers us something that changes the lives of everyone we hold dear as well as our own. This is a price worth paying.
