Losing Heart

Ever been tired? Worn out? Done?

And if you are a stubborn one, like I am, who refuses to give up, we always find a way to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, to muster whatever strength we can and keep going. Because we don't really have a choice. Because someone or something depends on us going on.

But maybe the reason we live in the cycles of strength and success and worn out and tired is because our priorities are wrong. Because we are so focused on ourselves and our way and our dreams, we forget why we can't lose heart.

It's not because the world can't go on without us or because no one else can do it to the standard we've set for ourselves and our lives and our ambitions. No, we must not lose heart for a reason much bigger than that. Gods ways are always big picture while our thoughts are stuck on us, the world we live in, how it affects what is important to us.

II Corinthians 4:1 says, "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry,  we do not lose heart."

The reason I am able to keep going when the kids are arguing all day and I mess things up at work is because it's not about me. God, in his great mercy, because he sees so much more in me than I do, has given me a ministry. Not any different than any other Christian, we all have a calling and ministry to love others, to be Jesus on earth. And because of this great ministry and responsibility, we cannot lose heart. There are people to love and seeds to be planted. We each have a job we have to do for His Kingdom sake.

And that is why we can't lose heart. Because we have been entrusted with a treasure in these jars of clay. A treasure that must be shared at all costs.