I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as new hope, opportunity & promise begin to dawn with what is sure to be a beautiful day! I also sincerely hope you have had a great week.
This week I want to talk about commitment. Last Sunday I watched Joel Osteen's sermon on TV which he titled "Stay Committed." You can Google "Joel Osteen Sermon on Commitment" and you can watch it on YouTube. It is 27 minutes and 29 seconds long...I think you will find it worth your time! Since last Sunday I have thought a lot about the things he said, I have searched scripture, I have sought out quotes on commitment and I have striven to learn more about commitment. At this point I am reminded, and must share, the thought, "we find what we are looking for"...in life, in people and yes, in meanings.
To quickly sum up Joel's point, if we will stay committed, the blessings will come. Sadly, most of us will quit long before we get to the point of blessing. We are "committed" so long as it is easy, doesn't require any sacrifice, etc. That is not commitment, that is convenience! Life is hard. Relationships are hard. Pursuing our God-ordained purposes is hard. Tests of our will & determination are often misidentified as stop signs. I hope & pray that we, Friends, will determine to live committed lives, truly committed, to our spouses, our friends and our purposes.
I want to briefly talk about those 3 things - spouses/partners, friends & purposes.
I remember the day I really, truly committed to my Beautiful Bride. I was driving down a lonely stretch of highway in Arizona and at that moment our marriage felt as barren as the desert passing by outside my car window. Not much was going right. We were not on the same page. We were having an extremely difficult time communicating. As I was talking to God and praying something clicked in my heart, mind & spirit - I will not quit on this marriage! I don't care if she loves me or even likes me, I will not stop fighting for her, for us until the day I breathe my final breath.
I think I may have shared these two examples/stories in the past however I want to share them again because they have served as such powerful reminders to me of what I believe I am called to as a husband & Dad. I once heard the late Bill Stewart, a college football coach, talk about Dog Soldiers. According to Coach Stewart, Dog Soldiers were Native American Warriors who, when beginning a battle would tie a rope to their ankle and on the other end was a stake. Before the battle began they would drive the stake into the ground. Having done this, they could not run from the fight...they would either fight or die. That day, driving down the road, I drove a stake in the ground, I became a Dog Soldier for my marriage. I will not run! I will fight for my marriage!
The second was equally powerful to me. We, as humans, are really good at rights, what I deserve, how I should be treated, etc. We are "committed" (wink, wink...we are not really talking about a true commitment here) so long as I am treated great, the love is reciprocated, it is easy, it feels good, etc. Well, I once read a great analogy of the calling of the husband & Dad. The writer - sorry, I don't remember what book I read it in let alone the author! - equated the relationship between the husband/Dad to the wife & children to that of the sun to earth. The sun provides everything for the earth, all for the earth's benefit, while receiving nothing in return. While many are quick to quote, and misrepresent, scripture that reads, "wives submit to your husbands" (Ephesians 5:22), it is a small group that is willing to live out Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Did you catch that part? "Willing to give yourself up for her." That my Friends is a call to commitment!
The second commitment I want to briefly talk about is to Friends! Joel shared an excellent example during his sermon. He shared how after Jim Baker was released from prison Franklin Graham reached out to him and invited him to go to church with their family. Jim objected stating it would embarrass the Graham family, it would cause controversy, to be seen with him. Franklin explained that they are friends and the Graham family was not concerned about what others said, thought or did...they were only concerned about loving their friend. When Jim did go to church with them, he was also joined by Billy & Ruth Graham.
You see, we all have failing moments! Every! Single! One! Of! Us! While some are more noticed because of the stature or notoriety of the person who failed, the reality is we have all done things that we wouldn't want seen on TV or read on the newspaper. Joel pointed out in his sermon that if there was no failure there would be no need for mercy. Think about that for a moment...
So how are we doing in our commitment to our friends? Are we really committed to them, to our relationship with them? Do we love them enough to love them when they are unlovable? Do we love them enough to tell them the truth? Are we committed to them enough to walk through the trials & tribulations of life with them? Are we committed to our friendships or are we simply looking for convenience? The depth and level of commitment to these friendships will determine the quality, the blessings if you will, that these relationships bring.
Finally, I want to talk about our level of commitment to our hopes, goals & dreams...those God-given purposes that reside deep within our souls. Are we committed to pursuing them or are we interested in only doing so as long as it is easy, convenient & things are going well? If that is the case, you & I will fail to ever achieve them. Speaking death? No, keeping it real. You see, the pursuit of any goal or dream will not be easy, convenient and things will not always go well. In fact, when it gets hard, gets inconvenient and things aren't going well we get to take the test of commitment - to find out if we are really committed to it or not.
This morning I read a statistic in a Jon Gordon book. It stated that British researchers studied 500 people who were defined as successful - happy, doing the things they want to do, have enough money, etc. Researchers were surprised to find that every single one of them had overcome some adversity or hardship. Every! Single! One!
Roadblocks, hurdles, pebbles in your shoes and the like are not stop signs. They are things in our path to makes us stronger, make us wiser as we make the climb to fulfill our destiny. It is a path however that can only be climbed by the committed.
Y'all know I love quotes so I am going to wrap this up with two quick quotes.
"The core of the Warriors Soul - A belief strong enough both to live for and die for."
- Stu Weber
"Success is rare, not because talent is uncommon, but because commitment is..."
- Mandy Bos
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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