DILIGENCE...
WITH ATTITUDE !
By: Debbie Corum

IT happened again this morning. Hebrews Chapter 11, the faith chapter, sucked the wind right out of my sails when I read it, and left me dead in the water. Instead of finding within its contents the courage to rise to a greater faith, I came away intimidated, disqualifed. Why? Because who can compete with a list of such fathers of the faith and their rich testimonies? These passionate, firey men and women subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword (v.33-34).

I imagined them living their entire lives in one continual blaze of glory. Warriors of faith hacking through every obstacle before them while crying out to the next, 'Come on...give me your best shot!'

If these superheroes set the standard as 'those who diligently seek Him' in verse 6, what chance do I have of gaining any reward, when some days I lose my cool over a toilet squirting water out from beneath the tank lid when I flush it? How would I withstand such intensity when piled up laundry makes me wither or when prayers dribble from my lips during personal devotional times? What about when my best just doesn't feel good enough? -

I daresay, with this kind of faulty mindset, my diligence wanes considerably and heads me into a tailspin of debilitating self-accusation. So, I determined to serch it out and realign my view of these forefathers.

Webster's Dictionary - defines 'diligence' as 'constant and persistent attention to one's work.' The words constant and persistent don't particulary come across as blaze of glory type words to me. Neither do they spark a sudden desire in me to find some ferocious lion and rend him
toothless.

Rather, they sound methodical and unwavering--a building up of line upon line, precept upon precept. They are plowing type words, a daily seeking after God and building up of one's faith, rather than one continuous gush of zealous passion. In light of the new information, I felt the dead air stir around me. My faith sails began to re-inflate and guide me forward in my understanding.

I moved on to God's Word. No doubt, Noah received one fantastic ride of a lifetime as a reward for his faith. But hammering away at the Ark day after day for 120 years took diligenge on his part, and lots of it! The jeering crowds and the hammer hitting the thumb, not the nail, had to pound against his last nerve. And didn't ancient Abraham and Sarah know days during their twenty plus years of waiting for their promised child, when the concept of childbirth seemed a bit on the ridiculous side? Days when a chuckle or two were their best response of faith?

What about Gideon? How many times did the Lord need to remind him he was a mighty warrior? I've experienced a few 'who me?' days, myself. Not to mention Moses. Did he feel all that zealous while leading his disgruntled kinfolk through the wilderness for forty long years? Weren't there times when, under his breath he mumbled, 'If I hear one more complaint about the menu....!' -

More than likely, these heroes of the faith were common folk like you and me. They experience good and bad days. Yet, they continued on. They followed after the only One who gave meaning to their nonsensical lives; they clung to the only Rock in their wavering world. As a result of their diligence, God rewarded them with extraordinary results. He performed phenomenal acts.

So, in light of this, I will continue on in my diligence. And you must continue in yours. We will steadily press on, press in, and press forward with God. We will persist. Like the Energizer bunny, ,we will keep seeking God through every scenario of life, through every joyous occasion, every heart break, and every mundance moment. We will set our faces like flint to follow Him whether we feel particularly passionate or not. We will stay constant and fight our individual fights, finish our set courses, and keep our faith (2 Timothy 4:7). As a result, we will receive our reward and find at the end of this race, that we, too, are numbered among those who diligently sought Him.
--

Let's be diligent with a good attitude, for our Lord!

-AN ORDINARY
GUY
---
John performed
no sign, but all the
things that John
spoke about [Jesus]
were true.
--John 10:41
---
Steve was just an ordinary guy. He quietly served in a church I attended years ago. He helped prepare communion, shoveled the sidewalks in the winter, and mowed the lawn in the summer. He spent time with teenage boys who had no fathers in the home. He was always willing to help where ever the church needed attention. He cleaned floors...

I often heard him telling people at church in his quiet way how good the Lord was to him. During prayer meeting he didn't talk much about himself but would ask us to pray for those he was telling about Jesus' forgiveness and love. He enjoyed sharing the the Lord with others.

A verse in John 10 about John the Baptist makes me think of Steve. People said of him: "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man [Jesus] were true" (v.41). John didn't persorm miracles as Jesus did. He didn't talk about himself but came to "bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe" (1:7). He said of Jesus, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29) My friend Steve bore witness of that Light as well.

Our aim, as followers of Jesus, is to do the same---to "bear witness of the Light." We're just ordinary people, serving God in our little corner of the world. With our quiet deeds and words, let's point others to the Light!

Just what do Christians look like?
What sets their lives apart?
They're ordinary people
Who love God from the heart.
----
Christians are ordinary people who are committed to
the extraordinary person of Christ.

--ODB/AC