Get Up and Go!

Elijah and the Angel of the Lord

 

As the old joke goes, “My get up and go has got up and went!”

What should we, as Christians, do when discouragement and defeat make us want to give up our ministries?

My husband Richard and I were reading our daily devotionals when we came to an anecdote about Catherine Marshall, dedicated missionary and prolific Christian writer. In her later years, she had come to the point where she felt exhausted and unable to continue, to the point that she felt she had to give up writing.

This brought tears to her eyes, knowing that her Spirit-inspired words had helped so many people and had brought her such intense satisfaction. Through much prayer, she felt God’s confirmation that it was not time to abandon her God-given gift, and that He would give her strength to continue.

Richard expressed confusion over her decision, admitting that he too had struggled at times with wanting to give up our dance ministry. “I’m old; I’m tired; and my body doesn’t want to do what it used to. I’m thankful for the gift God gave me to be able to dance for His glory, but if I’m not able to dance as powerfully as I used to, then I feel that maybe it’s no longer to His glory.”

I reassured him that even though we were older and perhaps less capable in the natural than we were in previous years, that it wasn’t about our ability, but about God’s strength being made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I reminded him that we have been encouraged in our recent performances when people of all ages, even strangers, told us that they were inspired and moved by our dancing and its Christian message.

God always chooses unlikely candidates to fulfill His purposes. Moses was a stutterer whom God chose to speak to Pharaoh and convince him to liberate God’s people (Exodus 4:10-12; 3:10). Noah was a drunkard whom God chose to repopulate the planet after the great flood (Genesis 9:20-21; 10:1). Ruth was a pagan who not only turned to the one true God, but whom God chose to be an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Ruth 1:4,16; Matthew 1:5-16).

It is not unusual for God’s people to get discouraged and want to give up, even in the midst of great spiritual victory. Elijah overthrew the false prophets of Baal by challenging them to a contest with the one true God, Who brought down heavenly fire on a water-soaked altar (1 Kings 18:21-40).

Shortly thereafter, intimidated by Jezebel’s threat to kill Him, Elijah wanted to give up. But God led him to a quiet, shaded spot and told him to have a snack, take a nap, then get up and go! (1 Kings 19).

The apostle Paul admitted that he would actually choose death over life, because it would immediately transport him to eternity with his beloved Lord and Savior. Yet he knew that would be a selfish choice, because it would deprive his converts and new churches of his leadership and inspiring example (Philippians 1:20-26).

So he persevered, knowing that God’s strength was made perfect in His weakness, and that His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“Yes, but Paul didn’t have to do overhead lifts!” Richard protested.

“True, but he did have to endure shipwreck, storms, near drowning, severe beatings, jail, and nearly being stoned to death,” I countered. (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). “Still feel like complaining?”

Richard inspires me because of how God has used him in our dance ministry despite what many would consider as strikes against him in the highly demanding area of Theatre Arts dancing. He had no formal dance training until he took his first dance lesson at age 40. He has a spinal condition that prevented him from combat duty, and a heart condition that gave us quite a scare when he suddenly became short of breath while in the midst of a strenuous training session.

And yet, God had an amazing plan – the doctor told him that the best way to prevent further episodes was to continue high-intensity training – particularly overhead lifting!

Decades later, now a cancer survivor who had three years of treatment known to reduce muscle mass and strength, Richard continues to partner me in our dance ministry – only by the grace of God! 

After a cancer procedure with usual recovery time of 6 weeks or more before resuming even light activity, Richard performed beautifully with me in a benefit for the American Cancer Society, 3 weeks to the day from the procedure! Praise God for His empowering grace!

Once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), God has a Divine purpose for each of us, which He determined from before the beginning of time (Ephesians 2:10). If we don’t give up, we will reap many rewards, if not in this lifetime, then once we hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

May we get up and go, run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1), and keep on keeping on until the day we hear the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52) or He calls us home!    

© 2023 Laurie Collett