God Honors Effort ©

Efforts and Courage are not enough without purpose and direction

John F. Kennedy

Merriam-Webster Dictionary online defines effort as something produced by exertion or trying.  It also lists several other definitions for the word but this one best fits today’s entry. Experience has taught me that nothing worth having ever comes easy. A healthy body, a strong marriage, a disciplined mind or a kind heart. The question of “worth” depends on the individual. The actual value of anything is based on a person’s experiences and mindset. A person that has never had a lot of money or resources tends to have greater appreciation for what they obtain as opposed to someone who has had access to unlimited resources virtually all of their life. I for one truly appreciate the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me because of where I have come from. If life occurs in seasons then the first part of life for me would be considered Fall. I say Fall (which is my favorite season by the way) because anyone who has experienced a Fall in the Southeastern United States knows that you have your beautiful days and then you have your not-so-beautiful days. I am grateful that I can honestly say that my good days have truly outnumbered my bad days and thankfully in this new season of life I am experiencing, the gap is becoming even wider. This particular season of life for me can only be described as Spring.

But enough about me..

God truly honors effort.

Now I am sure that those of you who believe as I believe can agree that when you set your mind and heart to the accomplishment of a task or arriving at a destination that is aligned with the will of God, He will supplement any deficiencies. The beautiful thing about God is that he understands that our power is only derived from our faith and trust in Him. He knows that we are incapable of obtaining anything through our strength alone and it is because of this that HE is an ever present help to those that call on Him. Now exactly how much effort He requires is uncertain. But one thing is clear. He will most definitely pick up where you leave off if you have given it your all with nothing held back. All that He asks is that when He picks it up….. that you leave it to him to finish the task. So many of us block our blessings and delay our breakthrough because we want to “help God out”. Like anything we contribute is gonna actually assist God with delivering us from or promoting us to where we are or wish to be. This in my (the humblest of) opinion is a foolish sentiment. God has been doing this for a minute now. I mean I’m sure he appreciates it and all, but I don’t think he needs our assistance.

I have been blessed to be surrounded by a phenomenal group of people. Individuals that understand that effort apart from God is foolishness. People that understand that the God we serve is a God of order and function, not one of chaos and confusion. That being said, make sure that the effort you put forth has purpose. God honors effort that brings glory to His name and effort that is purposeful. Allow me to provide you with a few examples of exactly what I mean:

Effort trying to save a relationship that God hasn’t blessed is irrational.

Effort trying to discredit or block another’s progress is foolish.

Effort trying to harm or discomfort someone eventually harms the person attempting to inflict the harm.

Effort trying to move before our appointed season only results in a delayed arrival to your destination.

Effort trying to love someone that you are not equally yoked with only leads to disappointment and frustration.

I could go on for days.

 The point is that one should truly consider if the effort they are about to put forth or are currently putting forth is a) truly worth the energy b) serves a purpose for you and c) is aligned with your Deity’s will for your life.

If your effort and energy isn’t purposeful to some extent it is in this author’s humble opinion basically pointless. Take it from someone who has wasted a lot of time and energy trying to do, obtain and keep things that I was never intended to have or pursue in the first place. Pointless endeavors do nothing but frustrate the participant. It skews the perspective and sears the conscience. It makes one bitter and/or cynical. This is why it is extremely important you plan your work, work the plan and trust the plan. And if you first don’t succeed….  don’t worry if you fall flat on your face. The nice thing about falling down is that the only way to go from there is up. I saw a very profound post on Pinterest the other day. It said that if you get knocked down… just roll over and look at the stars. Falling down…failing … grants perspective. How can we ever get better at something if we never have challenges? Failure is only delayed success to those of us who won’t and can’t quit. I personally can never leave a task undone. That could be considered both a gift and a curse. A gift in that by not quitting I eventually receive God’s best. A curse in that I have wasted a lot of time on things and people that I shouldn’t have. The wonderful thing about staying disciplined is that if what you are trying to obtain is a part of your destiny you will be successful. It’s guaranteed. Maybe not in our time or when we want it to occur but it’s an inevitable fact that dutiful attempts eventually lead to a bountiful harvest. It’s having the faith and patience to stay engaged, expecting success. The problem with a lot of us is that we are so busy trying to obtain a goal that we never take the time to stop and visualize actually obtaining that which we seek. I count myself in that number at times. I get so caught up in the details that I fail to actually stop and look at the end result. Is it worth it? Is the energy I’m exerting worth the trouble? Is this going to improve my quality of life and the quality of life of those around me? Does it glorify God and His Kingdom? These are some of the questions I ask myself when I find a particular endeavor or situation becoming troublesome. As I have matured, I find it a lot easier to walk away from anything or anyone that make things more difficult for me than they were divinely appointed to be.

Now don’t get it twisted. Life is challenging and we as human beings (even the superhuman ones) tend to make our existence a lot more difficult than it needs to be. However, we as humans are imperfect. No one has all the answers. Everyone makes mistakes. One of the keys to living is embracing our imperfections. The key to overcoming challenging situations and discouraging incidents is remembering that everything that happens in this life happens for a reason. The difficulties of life arise to strengthen us. Life’s obstacle can test our resolve but are never intended to punish us. It is not the intention of the Most High to cause those that serve Him unnecessary discomfort. We tend to cause ourselves the most discomfort by attempting to obtain or hold on to things that the Most High has asked us to let go of. Chasing pipe dreams and waterfalls can cause one a lot of frustration as well.

One other thing to remember when evaluating whether or not the insane amount of effort your are putting into any given situation is rational or logical is just making sure you haven’t gotten lost in other’s expectation of you. I have witnessed firsthand individuals going all out for a cause that they do not believe in or a reason that they have absolutely no investment in.  Now of course over the course of one’s life there will be situations thrust upon us that are unfortunately unavoidable.  We may at times find ourselves unintentional participants in supporting the efforts of others. It’s just as my granny used to say…. “just the way the cookie crumbles.”  Been there and most definitely done that... more times than I even want to recount or remember. However, the key thing to remember when you find yourself in the unenviable position of supporting a cause that does not directly reflect your beliefs and standards is to remain true to yourself and what you believe regardless of the environment or related circumstances.

Yes, Yes…… the very thought of having to put forth any amount of effort scares the hell out of some folks. I personally know people who have workaphobia (Yeah… I made that up so don’t go trying to Google it). As a matter of fact if given the opportunity to change their quality of life by simply giving the slightest amount of effort they would simply sit back and let that opportunity slide right on by because they just aren’t willing to put forth any effort to take advantage of it.

They say things like:

I ain’t doin’ all that!

So you want me to do what?

Ummmmm...

Who’s doin’ all that? Not me!

Sad thing is (at least to me anyway) while the person is sitting there making 101 excuses why they won’t or can’t do something the ish could have been already done. I have absolutely no sympathy for a healthy, able-bodied individual who refuses to take ownership in improving their quality life.  A word to all those folks out there sitting back waiting on their “big break” …. You actually have to do your part to place yourself in position to receive it. No one is gonna just show up at your crib and drop it off on your porch. You’re gonna have to get up off your blessed assurance and make things happen. God truly honors effort but you got to at least let him find you working and not resting on your laurels or curled up in the fetal position in your comfort zone.

So in closing, remember this. Not only does God honor effort, He also honors audacity. Be bold enough to stand firm in the face of opposition. For the enemy is forever placing obstacles in the way of those of us that strive to be a positive influence on our environment. Persistence and Perseverance pays tremendous dividends.  Throughout history there have been examples of individuals who have had to withstand what to the untrained eye appears to be insurmountable odds. If you take a closer look at the person’s predicament aka testimony it was the their faith, their effort and their courage that enabled them to push through. For there is a unexplainable sense of freedom in being courageous. A courage derived from the knowledge that effort full of purpose and properly planned is infallible.