Jump Start # 3729

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Our verse today presents two important concepts about our walk with the Lord that is often difficult over time. The words are: “steadfast,” and, “always abounding.” Together, they present the idea of sustaining, or as preachers once said, “Keep on Keeping on.”

The fire of passion for the Lord can flicker with time. The newness and excitement wears off. The journey can become long. This is why apostles remind us to “not grow weary.” The ‘always abounding’ part doesn’t always abound. We get weary. We become distracted. Life gets in the way. Our order gets out of order and our priorities get jumbled up. The “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord,’” turns more into have to rather than want to. Duty replaces desire. Our foot lifts off the spiritual accelerator and things slow down.

This is a concern of shepherds. This is the basis of many sermons. How do we keep going? How do we sustain our momentum, passion and work for the Lord? Always abounding looks more like, ‘sometimes abounding,’ or, ‘when I get around to it.’

Here are some thoughts:

First, much like running, there is a pace and a goal that one must set. It’s one thing to run to the mailbox when it is raining. It’s a lot different running everyday around the neighborhood streets. You don’t have to live a lifetime today. You do not have to do everything today. In fact, you cannot do everything. There are things that you know are true and absolute. You must rest your soul. You must feed your soul. You must connect with the Lord. Daily spiritual habits are essential to sustaining and moving forward.

The problem with habits is that it is hard to get them started and once you have, there are thousands of things that pop up to disrupt your routine. One has to work around those distractions. It is easy to kick the can down the road and to put off the spiritual for the things before us. Spending time in God’s word is important. This is one way we feed and nourish our souls. It’s essential to do this to keep our attitudes and heart godly and healthy. But emergencies come up. Things happen. And, what appears more pressing is what we do and we tell ourselves we’ll read the Bible later. Later becomes much later and we’ll double up tomorrow. And, then the next day, something else happens and once again we kick that can down the road. Our spiritual habits become shaky and inconsistent. And, just like that, the always abounding, looses the “always.”

One must realize this. Make daily goals that include spiritual habits. Put on paper who you want to call today, send a text to, or write a card to. Seeing your list will remind you. It will help you accomplish good things. I love post-it notes. I use them all the time. Little reminders. Things I must get done. It does little good to send a card to someone after they are well and back to services. Sustain. Always abounding.

Second, realize that Satan will use life to sidetrack you. It doesn’t have to be some terrible temptation that trips you up. No, just altering your schedule. Just stacking on more things that have to be done. But, push through those things and realize that you can and you ought to pray while doing these other things. This will keep the Lord before you. This will help you see what really matters in life. This will help you focus upon what is most important. In praying often, you’ll regain the always abounding.

Third, it’s the inconsistencies that really kill our influence, our drive and our walk with the Lord. Get down to the church house every time the doors are open. That means, there will be times when you go when you are tired. There will be times that you go when you don’t feel like it. There will be times when it is a real struggle to get there. But, in doing so, it will refresh your soul and it will help you to keep moving forward.

Often when a guest speaker comes, people get excited and the interest level soars. But when the guest speaker goes home, like the air escaping from a balloon, all dies out and nothing worthwhile remains. We can do better than that. Don’t put all of this on the speaker. Take ownership of your faith and put your faith in the Lord, not others.

Sustaining. Always abounding. Steadfast. Key components to our journey with the Lord. It does little good to baptize someone, only to see them become a no-show and eventually return back to the world again. Begin by sustaining yourself. Then help others.

Roge