How Badly Do You Want It?

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14 NIV)

It has been over two years since I had a very bad knee replaced.  It had for years prevented me from doing things I enjoyed, such as hiking and playing tennis.  Even walking had become more difficult and painful.  So when the time came for the replacement surgery, I was so ready.  But I knew a long road to recovery lay ahead of me.  I had read and been told often the rehab process would take much effort and would not be easy.  My experience bore that out.  

The first six weeks I could barely sleep because of the pain and a “restless leg-type” issue.  The exercises I was given were extremely challenging and often quite uncomfortable.  Even after I was able to walk normally, the knee was nowhere near ready for activities involving running, jumping, and climbing.  That took a year to just begin those types of things.  But then, it was another year before I began to feel like I did long ago when my bad knee was still functioning well.  

As I look back, it was all worth it and I knew it would be. That is why I continued to press on through my rehab.  I wanted so badly to walk normally again, to exercise in a way that I could gain much more conditioning and strength, and to enjoy once again activities that had been only distant memories.  So I pressed on through the pain and discomfort, as well sacrificing the time, to achieve what I wanted.

As my wife often says when I share some story, there is a spiritual lesson in this.  How badly do we want to attain spiritual maturity?  How much do we truly want to know Jesus on a deeper level?  So much that we are willing to put in the hard work to achieve it?

If we look at our lives, we can easily see what we value by where we invest our time and effort.  If we are truly committed, if we really want something, then we will put in the time and effort in to achieve it.  This is true in school, relationships, careers, and, yes, in acquiring a deeper relationship with the Lord.  If you want it badly enough, you will press on hard to achieve it.

So today the question is: how badly do you want to deepen your relationship with the Lord?  Does it go beyond merely saying you do because that’s what’s expected?  Do you REALLY want it?  If so, then you should be willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Gone will be the excuses of busyness, tiredness, not knowing where to begin, or a myriad of other reasons you may have been giving up to now.  If you truly want it, then you will do what it takes.  If the price seems more than you’re willing to pay, then perhaps you need to question how much of a desire you truly have.

© Jim Musser 2016