For YWMJ, I picked another Bill Hybels book. This is a relatively short book which makes for easy reading.
WYAWNOL started off by focusing on some Characters which have became “Endangered Qualities” meaning we are finding it less and less evident in the lives of the people. Namely, Courage, Discipline, Vision and Endurance. According to Hybels, in order to really love, it is paramount that I possess the necessary 4 characters mentioned.
Quitting Point
Naturally, I have a lot to work on in all the characters mentioned but personally, what was being written on the character of Endurance resonated most with me.
To endure means to push past the “quitting point”
Quitting always seems to be the easier way out and in today’s values system; it seems that quitting is perfectly fine. So, couples quit on their marriage when their relations hit the rocks, workers quit their job as and when they feel like it, ministry leaders gave up when they feel unappreciated and misunderstood and the list goes on.
Personally, I have experienced a lot of quitting points in my life as well. As a LGL, there are times where I think it’s about time to step down or aside (usually during disappointments, sometimes during tiredness and many times during frustrations)
In times of conflicts, there are times I wish to quit being calm or reasonable and just trash things out. However, deep inside I know that God does not want me to quit. He wants me to push through the quitting point and stand for what is right in His eyes. For every problem, there is bound to have a solution God endorses. Rather than quit at convenience, we should find that solution and do what God wants us to do.
Something I came across long time ago…
You Must Not Quit
When things go wrong; as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You might succeed with another blow,
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem the worst that you must not quit.
In essence, this seems to be what it is about, isn’t it?
The next half of the book will focus on the different forms of Love and how I can practice it in my life in a sustainable way.
(* sidetrack - I find many examples mentioned here very familiar and I am sure it appeared in “Honest to God/Courageous Leadership” as well.)
