Choose Hard

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” - Philippians‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭‬

Sunday night, my husband and I went camping with the Lindows. Between our families there is a 3 month old, almost 3 year old, a four year old, and a baby on the way. Taking young kids camping is never easy. There was crying from all the kids at one point or another, multiple tripping incidents, wake ups in the middle of the night, projectile vomit of one’s breakfast (that was River if anyone was wondering haha) and more. Even though it is never easy, it is worth it! Putting in the work now will ultimately lead to greater enjoyment later! We’ve seen it with many of our friends and their kids.

The same is with our walks with Jesus. Jesus never promised easy, but He did promise it was worth it. Paul penned, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭‬). Daily we have to choose God over ourselves and our desires for Him and His desires. It is a battle! Daily we put in the work to choose Jesus and ultimately it is worth it!

Research shows that taking your kids outside when they are young helps them to foster a love for the outdoors. Doing what seems hard now will grow our kids in love for the outdoors. It will also make it easier when they are older because they have learned what is is like. Then, we will all share in the joy of the outdoors even more together! As we follow Jesus, putting in the work now and making the hard decisions to choose Him, we grow in our love for Him. When we reach eternity having lived in pursuit of pleasing Him, we have the joy of offering up our work, not as a means of salvation, but as a means of worship, at Jesus’s feet. The hard work now leads to greater joy later.

So friends, choose Jesus today. Choose hard. Hard work leads to greater joy later.