{"id":23200,"date":"2018-05-26T03:30:17","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T10:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23200"},"modified":"2018-05-23T16:02:57","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T23:02:57","slug":"may-26-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/05\/26\/may-26-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"May 26, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cAnd let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not faint.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Galatians 6:9<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>1 John 5:3<\/p>\n

Just Keep Pushing!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Several years ago, one of our Bible study teachers told us a story.<\/p>\n

The illustration was about God telling a man to go out every day and push against a boulder that was in his yard. So in faith and obedience he went outside every day and pushed as hard as he could on that huge rock. After many months of pushing with all his might, he got discouraged because the rock never budged an inch. The enemy told him that he would never be able to move that rock and it was useless to keep spending his time and energy trying, so the man quit.<\/p>\n

Some time later, when the Lord asked him why he had given up, he said, \u201cI have been pushing on that rock for a long time and now realize that I will never be able to move it.\u201d The Lord responded, \u201cI never asked you to MOVE the rock, only to be faithful to PUSH against it. I will move the rock when the time is right. But your obedience to push on it every day resulted in developing muscle and making you stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

For me this is a lesson on exercising our faith. Just like a muscle, when we exercise it, it becomes bigger and stronger. All we have to do is obey God and trust Him to move the mountains. Our faith doesn\u2019t move the mountains, God\u00a0<\/u>does!<\/p>\n

Jesus said, \u201c\u2026 men always ought to pray and not lose heart\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Luke 18:1b). My \u201crock\u201d is to keep praying and interceding, and this story has opened my eyes to see things in a fresh, new light. For example, now when I hear that teenager across the street pounding out his loud, obnoxious rock music, I can choose to pray for him (push against the rock) and speak blessings rather than curses. Instead of angrily wishing he would just shut up or move away, my concern became less of an irritation to me, and more of a concern for him and his family. God has put that neighbor there for a reason, and part of that reason is for my benefit if I am willing to accept it.<\/p>\n

What kind of \u201crock\u201d is the Lord asking you to just keep pushing against?<\/p>\n

\u201cLord, once again I am reminded what a relief it is to know that \u2018You\u2019ve got this\u2019 and that Your commandments are not burdensome. You are for me, and Your ways and thoughts are higher than mine. Help me to persevere and not lose heart. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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