perseverance

The coach looked at me, shook his head in disgust, and said: “What a waste.”

I had made my junior high school football team, but quit. Who tries out, stands in line to find out he made the cut, and then promptly quits?

I do.

Unfortunately, something similar happened a few years earlier when I joined a community football team but promptly quit. Who bails out after just one practice and making a positive first impression?

I do.

You see, I was a quitter. For me to give up so easily in something I was truly passionate about—football—there’s no other way to describe me.

I was a quitter. A little resistance, a little discomfort, a few doubts, and I would cave in. You could count on it.

Over time, however, I became disgusted with myself. The list of missed opportunities was embarrassingly long and painful to think about.

Motivated by all of my bailouts, I decided enough was enough and became determined to stick things through, no matter what. Today, I doubt whether anyone would call me a quitter. The fact is, I can be downright stubborn and doggedly persistent. Sometimes to a fault.

When it comes to life—especially life as a follower of Jesus Christ—I don’t want to be a quitter. I can’t afford to be a quitter. I won’t be a quitter. Not anymore.

At the end of my life I don’t want any regrets, nor do I want one ounce of energy left in my body. I want to live the way the Lord intended me (and us) to live.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”1

What about you? Are you facing a little resistance, a little discomfort and/or a few doubts right now? Are you about to throw in the towel?

If so, I encourage you to think twice. If what you’re pursuing or working towards is of value, don’t cave in. Stay at it a little while longer.

If it motivates you, think of me and how pathetic I was to walk away from my childhood dream of playing football. The dream was actually within my grasp, yet I chose to walk away from it.

Don’t be a quitter like I was. Choose, instead, to persevere.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such way as to get the prize.”2

Go for it.

1  2 Timothy 4:7

2  1 Corinthians 9:24