Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
For many people, pain and discomfort is avoided at all costs. Anytime there is the least bit of resistance or the need to push through something, they just give up and retreat. I experience this far too often in my own life, even at my young age.
I have begun the journey of running for my health. I am using a plan called “Couch to 5k” and completed my first official 5k last year! But it wasn’t easy to get started and it wasn’t easy to keep going week after week. But now I am beginning to see the positive results of having better cardiovascular function and fewer body aches.
But those who accomplish the most in life have found that pushing through those points of resistance bring the most rewards. Ask any good athlete if resistance is their friend. It is those hard points, those moments when you are stretched to your limit, that bring the most growth.
The difference between those who push through and those who pull back is most often a matter of perspective. Those who push through see the opportunity for growth as more valuable than the momentary discomfort that the resistance brings in the moment. Their perspective stretches into the future and brings the future rewards into sight in the present.
Those who pull back in the face of resistance are focused only on the present discomfort, and avoid it because it is unpleasant. They have not shifted to seeing the good that can come from the stretch that pain brings, and the opportunity for growth.
God disciplines us. He allows circumstances and situations in our lives that push us toward our limit. He does this to give us the opportunity to grow, to pull in closer to Him and receive the strength we need in the moment that will prepare us for our future. We all need to take steps toward Jesus.
The question for today is this. Where are you feeling the stretch in your life, that place where you feel discomfort? Can you see the growth possibility in that current discomfort? Or are you only focused on avoiding the temporary pain?
The reality is that the moment of discomfort is very short, lasting only a few moments. If we will just push through the rewards will be evident.
The Arnold Journey 