Momentum Killers

What are the threats to living the life God created you for? What is it that threatens to kill any God-given momentum you may have?

How many times have you made a commitment to live a God-honoring life and a few short weeks or even days later you found the fire fading?

You said, "I'm all in." You prayed that prayer that John Wesley covenant prayer: "Lord, make me what you will. I put myself fully into your hands: put me to doing, put me to suffering, let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and with a willing heart give it all to your pleasure and disposal. Amen."

And then life happens. You met with crisis, hurt, unmet expectations. The life of faith didn't seem to hold all the adventure that the preacher promised. All your momentum seems headed in the wrong direction.

These moments can be a time to leave or a time to learn.

Perhaps our first defense against momentum killers is to remember that following Jesus is for the long-haul. As Eugene Peterson put it in his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, "We are obsessed with the immediate."

We are much more interested in quick fixes than long-term commitments. Rarely do you find someone who works the same job or lives in the same house for 30 or 40 years. More rare these days is to find a couple who has been married for 30 or 40 or more years. It's hard for us to imagine focusing on one thing that long. Too mundane! Too boring! Can't focus for more than 10 seconds on anything!

I think we will be very sad at the end of our days if we say, "I did so many things that I did nothing."

I'm not suggesting that God wants us to live boring , mundane lives. I am suggesting that we'll never know the real joy God has in store for us if we are unwilling to persevere through very difficult, sometimes mundane times in our walk of faith.

A second defense against momentum killers is developed by perseverance in a life of faith. In a word, it's forgiveness. At some point in your relationships you will get hurt and you will have a choice - harbor hatred and bitterness or forgive. Not choosing to forgive will kill any positive momentum in your life.

Forgiveness is not a feeling you get that makes everything alright. Forgiveness is not forgetting about the pain that was caused you. Forgiveness does not mean you trust someone who is not trustworthy. Forgiveness is a choice not to get even. Forgiveness is a choice not to hold the harm caused you against the person. It's a choice not to keep bringing it up in conversations. Forgiveness is a choice to love when love is not deserved or earned. Forgiveness is what God has done for you when you didn't earn it.

Forgiveness will kill momentum killers! It is one of the most powerful weapons God has given His people in the fight against evil, injustice and oppression. It will set you free. It is a primary ingredient to learning to live the "long obedience in the same direction."