Have you ever had a set back that made you feel like quitting?

As a runner, I felt like quitting many times.  The setback?  Pain.

There are times when your lungs burn.  You sometimes feel like your shins are going to explode.  One day in particular, when I felt like quitting, my body lied to me.

I kid you not.  My body, not my brain, said, “STOP!  You can’t do this”.  Once I recognized the voice, I laughed.  “You can do it body, and you’re going to.”  That day I ran twice as far than I normally did at the time!

You may feel like quitting right now.  At first, the race seemed easy, but with time you’ve grown weary.  With your marriage.  Or you job.  Your children.  In the battle to be the man or woman God called you to be.

You’re not alone!  It’s human nature to avoid pain at all costs.  Especially good pain!

The good pain of getting physically fit.  Of enduring difficult, yet important, relationships.  Of personal growth.  Of leadership development.  While growing in spiritual maturity.

It may have been A.W Tozer who said that when God calls someone he hurts them.  That may or may not be truth.

But there is something to be said about the addage, “No pain, no gain!”

God knew we would experience pain, so he recorded the story about people who had a similar experience.

Several times, in the scriptures, God’s people were taken captive.

So how do you survive as a people when you are in captivity for 70 years?

The answer is you maintain hope.  According to the writers of the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Although the Jews suffered greatly and faced powerful cultural pressures in a foreign land, they maintained their national spirit and religious identity”.

Just as in times past, God’s promises can help us get through present troubles.

If God delivered us in the past, we can be assured he will presently and in the future as well.

When in an especially dark time, David remembered God’s mighty works in the past and was reassured of future deliverance.  “The Lord,” David writes, “has done great things for us; whereof we are glad” (Psalm 126:3).

Remembering past mercies, David prays, “Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south” (Psalm 126:4).

He then reveals a principal, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5).

Many people quote this verse when going through difficult times.  In their minds, God will deliver them.  All they have to do is wait.

But that’s not really the principle at work, here.

This isn’t a rendition of the modern day mantra, “hang in there”.  David is explaining that difficult times require action on our part if we want deliverance.  Can God deliver us without any action on our part?  Of course, but this principle teaches us that if we want to see results, we have to take action.

Tough times never last, tough people do!

Perhaps this idea is resonating with you right now.  Rather than curling up into a fetal position because you’re experiencing difficulties right now, what if you decided to take action!

The difficulties of life never cease, however, if we want to enjoy the fruits of our labors, we must keep sowing during difficult times.  Especially during difficult times.  There really is no time to lose.

When we do, we’ll experience the promise.  David writes, “Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.  Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves” (Psalm 126:5-6).

Allow me to suggest this idea.  Perhaps things have gotten so difficult lately that you’ve been considering a short cut.  In your heart, you may know this short cut is wrong, but you’re so tired and weary that it seems like the only way.

There are many shortcuts…telling a lie, changing some numbers, submitting some papers, giving in.  There is a word for these shortcuts…sin.

The antidote to sin is faith.  David teaches us, as well as other writers, that we can trust God.  He is our father and we are his children.  He loves us and promises to provide for our every need.

How do we know he loves us?  He allowed his Son Jesus to die for us on the cross.

How do we know he can do the impossible?  He raised his son from the dead!

If you’re trusting God as your Father and you’ve been thinking about the shortcut lately, I want to remind you that you are loved any you can trust your heavenly Father.

If you’ve never trusted God as your Father, you can.  Today.

I know you may be really tired right now and maybe you’re even considering dropping out of the race.  I want to remind you.  Life can be tiring and painful.  Don’t quit!

Jesus himself experienced weariness and pain, yet he persevered and so can you.

Rather than just ignoring your current situation and hoping it will just pass by, why not begin why planting a small seed, today?  Decide what you’re going to do and then take the first step toward achieving it.  If you’re unsure what that looks like, maybe it means just getting back to some of the routines you once practiced that were producing fruit.

Most of the time we know what we should do, it’s just a matter of doing it.

Sticking our heads in the sand like the proverbial Ostrich is not what the bible teaches.  The bible teaches us that the best time to get going is when we least feel like it.  In the words of an ancient wise man, “The best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago.  The second best time is today!