Keep on keeping on!

Retirement from the Christian life is not in God’s plan. As you turn the pages of Scripture, you can’t find one saint who quit. Although many wanted to (remember Elijah, Jonah, and David?), not one did. Consider the following roll call of saints.

~  Throughout his life, Abraham responded to God’s commands to move. He lived in tents, his nomad’s life representing his search for “the city…who architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). Abraham died without receiving the fulfillment of God’s promises of land, a vast number of descendants, and great blessing (see Genesis 12:1-3 and Hebrews 11:39). Abraham could have quiet, but he desired “a better country, that is a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). So, until he died, Abraham pressed on.

~  Aged and weary, Moses kept serving the Lord. At one point, he even needed the help of Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands so that God would continue to bless the Israelites’ efforts in battle (Exodus 17:8-13). He could have quit, but he didn’t. Instead, he got the help he needed to raise his hands heavenward. Later, because Moses hadn’t obeyed and trusted God for water at Meribah (Numbers 20:9-13), God forbade him to cross into the Promised Land he had waited 40 years to enter. Again, Moses could have quit serving God, but he didn’t. Instead, he spent the rest of his days teaching the law, preparing the priest, and encouraging Joshua to lead God’s people into the land his feet would never touch.

~  Samuel was called by God to be His prophet, but later the people of Israel rejected his leadership and asked him to appoint a king over them so that they would be like their neighboring nations (I Samuel 8:1-5). Most people quit after being rejected, but Samuel didn’t. Instead, he kept praying and preaching(12:23), and he spent the rest of his life helping Saul, the man who took his place as the leader of the nation.

~  King David greatly desired to build a temple to God, but the Lord Almighty said to David, “You have shed much blood, and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.” (I Chronicles 22:8). But instead of quitting, David kept pressing on for the Lord. He spent his last days making plans and gathering materials so that his son Solomon could build the temple (I Chronicles 22:5-19).

~  Paul spent his final days writing letters from prison which would guide the church of Jesus Christ in the future. His impending death didn’t shift his sharp focus on Jesus Christ and His people. He kept pressing on to the end of his life by offering encouragement, exhortation, and comfort through his pen.

~  Exiled to the island of Patmos in his old age, the apostle John never quit. After all, his service for Christ had seemingly earned him only disgrace and dishonor. But John kept pressing on. In his nineties, he was blessed with “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1;1). The twenty-two chapter of the Book of Revelation tell what will take place before and when the Lord returns. The apostle served as prophet with words that still speak to us today.

~  Jesus Christ knew about the cross, but He pressed on toward it and, when it was time, He endured it to the end (Hebrews 12:2). As He hung dying on that cruel instrument of torture to save you and me from our sins, He uttered the three simple words, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus, our Savior and our Lord, pressed on to the end.

The list of God’s people who pressed on and served the Lord until the end of their life goes on and on. At one time or another as they ran the race, each of the men of faith mentioned above HAD A VALID REASON TO QUIT...

                Yet not one of them quit, resigned, or retired. 

They knew they had not finished the race, that there was still work to be done, and that God could still use them. They knew that, by God’s grace, they could make a difference for His kingdom right up until the day they left this earth and went to be with Him.

They kept on keeping on.

While God may not have called you and me to achieve anything near the magnitude of these men’s accomplishments, He does view our sphere of service and responsibility as equally important. These saints had a clear vision of God which inspired them in their calling-- and now inspires me in mine--

                    to press on toward the end

               in service of the Almighty!

　

　

　

(Stormie Omaritian)