"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going"
Heard that phrase? Yeah, me too. It always sounded pretty good and I didn't give it much thought…until tonight.
Everyone has had the proverbial "tough" time in life at some point…and if you never have, I totally want to meet you. But I don't give out my address publicly, so oh well. Anyway, upon further thought, I considered several things about this phrase in conjunction with my faith.
1. WHEN - It's funny that we wait until things are hard to do something, isn't it? For example, I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life right now. No one did this to me; I let it happen to myself. Now my when has come…the time that something needs to happen, or else…or else. If I had "got going" sooner, it wouldn't be so "tough" in the first place. Spiritually, we often wait until something really tough happens before we "get going" with God. I've done it…and if you are honest with yourself, you probably have too. When. Something to consider.
2. The TOUGH - What does tough even mean? I'm a fan of Webster, and no I don't mean the little kid off of that old TV show, what was it called? Different Strokes! Loved it. I guess I am a fan of Webster after all, but not the webster I am referring to. The dictionary says,
A. (of a substance or object) strong enough to withstand adverse conditions or rough or careless handling.
B. involving considerable difficulty or hardship; requiring great determination or effort.
C. endure a period of hardship or difficulty(It also says a gangster, but I think that may not apply so well here…if you have a great application for that, please leave it my comments!)
So, now we know exactly what it is we are talking about and are all on the same page. When life gets hard, those that are determined, endure.
3. the GOING - Life. Almost funny to think "when" life gets tough. Tough is relative…sometimes what I think is tough someone else handles like a pro and vice versa. Everyone's tough looks a little different. But we can probably all agree that life IS tough, period. Jesus told us in the Bible that we WOULD face trials of all sorts in this life. It was no secret. But He attached a promise: "Take heart; I have overcome the world." So the day to day going…this thing called life, yes, it's tough. No matter who you are or what you do…it's tough.
Some of the most intimate times I've had with God were my most broken times…when the going got SO TOUGH and I DIDN'T get going enough to be able to handle it myself. But see that's a problem in our day-to-day too…we always want to handle everything ourselves. "We got this God, don't worry." Can you imagine with me, for a moment, that you carved a little wooden marionette puppet. You created it-designed it and with specific purpose, to be able to dance and move. Imagine if that puppet turned around and said, "Hey don't worry, I've got this myself!" Really? (Now, I know you're all thinking 'Pinocchio came to life and all that', but remember what happened to him?!) God's promise attached to us going through tough times says HE overcame the world. It doesn't say take heart, you overcame the world. If we leave our Creator and try to do tough on our own, the results we yield are less than satisfying, to be generous.
May I ask you to consider, rather than taking the motto
"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", perhaps ponder the mantra of
"When the Tough Keep Going, the Going isn't so Tough"
Now, yes, I said God promised we would have issues. It's not about minimizing the hardships of life, but rather, maximizing the God who says He'll walk you through them.
The meat & potatoes is this: Don't wait for the going to get tough to get going. Choose to get going now-today-this moment. Choose it, and act on it. Just like when you know you can count on a best friend to be there when life is hard, how much more as you foster relationship with your Heavenly Father, will you be able to know and understand He's there with you when it gets tough…
So, what are you waiting for?
GET GOING.
Everyone has had the proverbial "tough" time in life at some point…and if you never have, I totally want to meet you. But I don't give out my address publicly, so oh well. Anyway, upon further thought, I considered several things about this phrase in conjunction with my faith.
1. WHEN - It's funny that we wait until things are hard to do something, isn't it? For example, I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life right now. No one did this to me; I let it happen to myself. Now my when has come…the time that something needs to happen, or else…or else. If I had "got going" sooner, it wouldn't be so "tough" in the first place. Spiritually, we often wait until something really tough happens before we "get going" with God. I've done it…and if you are honest with yourself, you probably have too. When. Something to consider.
2. The TOUGH - What does tough even mean? I'm a fan of Webster, and no I don't mean the little kid off of that old TV show, what was it called? Different Strokes! Loved it. I guess I am a fan of Webster after all, but not the webster I am referring to. The dictionary says,
A. (of a substance or object) strong enough to withstand adverse conditions or rough or careless handling.
B. involving considerable difficulty or hardship; requiring great determination or effort.
C. endure a period of hardship or difficulty(It also says a gangster, but I think that may not apply so well here…if you have a great application for that, please leave it my comments!)
So, now we know exactly what it is we are talking about and are all on the same page. When life gets hard, those that are determined, endure.
3. the GOING - Life. Almost funny to think "when" life gets tough. Tough is relative…sometimes what I think is tough someone else handles like a pro and vice versa. Everyone's tough looks a little different. But we can probably all agree that life IS tough, period. Jesus told us in the Bible that we WOULD face trials of all sorts in this life. It was no secret. But He attached a promise: "Take heart; I have overcome the world." So the day to day going…this thing called life, yes, it's tough. No matter who you are or what you do…it's tough.
Some of the most intimate times I've had with God were my most broken times…when the going got SO TOUGH and I DIDN'T get going enough to be able to handle it myself. But see that's a problem in our day-to-day too…we always want to handle everything ourselves. "We got this God, don't worry." Can you imagine with me, for a moment, that you carved a little wooden marionette puppet. You created it-designed it and with specific purpose, to be able to dance and move. Imagine if that puppet turned around and said, "Hey don't worry, I've got this myself!" Really? (Now, I know you're all thinking 'Pinocchio came to life and all that', but remember what happened to him?!) God's promise attached to us going through tough times says HE overcame the world. It doesn't say take heart, you overcame the world. If we leave our Creator and try to do tough on our own, the results we yield are less than satisfying, to be generous.
May I ask you to consider, rather than taking the motto
"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", perhaps ponder the mantra of
"When the Tough Keep Going, the Going isn't so Tough"
Now, yes, I said God promised we would have issues. It's not about minimizing the hardships of life, but rather, maximizing the God who says He'll walk you through them.
The meat & potatoes is this: Don't wait for the going to get tough to get going. Choose to get going now-today-this moment. Choose it, and act on it. Just like when you know you can count on a best friend to be there when life is hard, how much more as you foster relationship with your Heavenly Father, will you be able to know and understand He's there with you when it gets tough…
So, what are you waiting for?
GET GOING.
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