Fits and starts. And then more fits.

I love starting projects.

Cleaning closets. Organizing the garage. Planting bulbs in the yard for spring color. Sinking my teeth into a Lindt dark chocolate bar… the kind with a touch of sea salt. Finishing projects is a whole different story. Somewhere in the middle, I just give up steam. The “to donate” pile lingers in the corner of the closet for weeks. The garage has a strange collection of tools that never really find their home on the peg board. And I still have boxes of unplanted bulbs. (I’ve got no problem finishing the chocolate bar, however.)

God often calls His people to new things, new places, new ministries:

• Abram was called to a new country (Genesis 12:1).
• Moses was commanded to lead God’s people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10).
• Ruth followed Naomi to her homeland as an expression of her faith in God (Ruth 1:16).
• Peter, Andrew, James and John left their nets to become fishers of men (Matthew 4).

Each of these journeys had twists and turns, recorded for us on the pages of scripture. None of the Biblical figures had an “easy” time finishing the task set out for them by God. Cutting a path is hard, sweaty labor. Had the men and women in our Bibles given up, we wouldn’t see the beautiful ways God worked in, and through, their lives. I’m so thankful that they all pressed into the discomfort, drew nearer to God along the way, and took hold of what He called them to.

New journeys often begin with a sense of excitement. When the thrill wears off and the novelty of a new calling has lost its luster, all that is left is the earnest labor of perseverance. Perseverance, by faith, in the task God has appointed to us. Abraham dealt with uncertainty, Moses faced Pharaoh and the plagues, Ruth was vulnerable in a new place, and the disciples undertook a whole new profession. Each began a new thing, and then had to persevere through it to completion.

The call to finish the task is implicit in the call to begin it. We must persist in our labors by faith, even when the path grows difficult.

When we do, the result will be sweeter than chocolate.

What new thing has God called you to begin recently? How will you persevere when the road becomes hard… or boring? Or, what did you begin that has now become an arduous, incomplete task? How do the Biblical stories reinvigorate your calling? Will you persist? In the spirit of Hebrews 12, let’s encourage one another.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
— Hebrews 12:1 NLT

A new thing I am beginning in a few days is a 31 day writing project. I’ll be writing on the topic of optimism. I’m an Eeyore by nature yet I’d like to try to “learn” optimism. I’ll put up short posts every day of the month of October. Blog subscribers will receive a digest of posts once or twice a week but Facebook fans will see the posts on a daily basis. I hope you’ll engage with me in this learning process (and that you’ll encourage me to finish what I’m starting!).