Christian Living

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We should’ve stayed home!

That was my thought as I stood on the balcony of my hotel, gazing—no, glaring—at a choppy ocean that was as pewter gray as the sky it mirrored. Rain had pounded the coast for days, as though the clouds were caught up in fit of uncontrollable sobbing.

Inside, the kids were parked in front of the TV, taking a breather from bouncing off the walls. Praise God, maybe He’d sent us a Roadrunner marathon to distract them from spiking the volleyball off each other’s heads.

I turned back to our soggy vacation, wishing I had the creativity to make this trip a good time in spite of nature’s bad disposition. What were others doing to weather this miserable weather?

My answer suddenly stormed the beach.

A laughing group of nine or ten people came into view. Rain SMAIN, they plunked a red and white umbrella into the mushy sand. A few ran for the churning waves, while others dug for aquatic treasures washed ashore from the deep. The grandpa-looking guy of the gang happily resigned himself to be buried in the sand.

No doubt, these folks had been holed-up one day too many. They’d had enough. They were at the beach and, by granny, they were going to do BEACH STUFF!!!!

I admired their spunk. Not enough to grab a boogie board and join the wet madness, but I admired it just the same.

Later, the Lord would remind me of that hearty clan who didn’t let circumstances stop them from doing what they came to do.

I remember joining the ladies Bible study in my neighborhood, which meets on Tuesday mornings for two hours. As a wife and mom who spends a lot of time tasking for those I love, I was looking forward to having some time for myself, a chance to fellowship with other women and grow in my knowledge of the Lord. Well…

Sure as the sun sets in the west, Tuesday mornings proved the validity of Murphy’s Law. If something can go wrong, it will.

And it did. I’d do something brilliant like back over the mailbox. The shelves in the master closet would crash to the floor. The dog would root through the kitchen trash and come up with an empty spinach can stuck over her muzzle.

Getting to Bible study, just a few blocks a way, was almost as challenging as navigating the autobahn—and that was before I even got out of my driveway.

I wasn’t alone. Women would skid into small group, flushed and breathless. “Sorry I’m late…

“…the school called. Jeremy hid a water gun in his backpack, then blasted the teacher’s guinea pig.”

“…my neighbor rented a Bobcat, lost control, took out part of my back fence and two hydrangeas.”

Prowling my neighborhood—that’s where the devil is on Tuesday mornings! Doing everything he can to keep us out of Bible study.

My Bible study leader gave great advice. Don’t let circumstances pull you off the course God sets for you.

In Hebrews 12: 1, we’re encouraged to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

So why is that some Christians hurdle every obstacle that blocks the track, while others take a face plant on the straight and narrow? Why do some find a way to work with every situation, while others contemplate skipping church because their mornings don’t live up to a coffee commercial? Good to the last drop?

The answer, I think, comes down to two words.

Motive and mission. Why do we do…the things that we do?

When asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and will all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31, NIV)

From Jesus we learn: Loving the Lord should be our greatest motive. Serving Him should be our greatest mission.

Other motives and missions leave us vulnerable…easy prey for becoming discouraged and knocked off course, to getting focused on our own needs and glory, to regressing into joyless Christians who merely go through the motions, who serve up our ministries with a scowl and complaint.

Nothing empowers us more than a passion for the Lord, or inspires us more to work for the good of others. Paul didn’t travel over 3200 miles to rack up the frequent flyer points. Missionaries aren’t on the tsunami-ravaged coast to work on their tans. The ladies who faithfully and joyfully lead my weekly Bible study have just as many chores, family responsibilities, daily calamities, crosses to bear and mailboxes to plow down as I do.

They have the right motive and mission—and that’s the difference between success and failure. That’s the reason why some Christians persevere, find solutions and follow through. Anything less is why other Christians might declare obstacles a “bad sign”, pack up and abandon ship.

Let us all commit and surrender to the Greatest Commandments! Let us seek God’s will in everything and trust the promise of Proverbs 16:3.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” (NIV)

That’s not to say that the devil, that ancient serpent, won’t be slithering around, looking for ways to rain on our day at the beach. He will, but fueled by our love for the Lord and desire to serve, we can say with confidence.

Devil SMEVIL! I’m here for the Lord and, by granny, I’m going to do the LORD’S STUFF!


© Donna G. Morton, June 2005

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