Keep on keeping on! These four simple words have a tremendous meaning and are used by many leaders to inspire their followers, co-workers, family, etc.
I have heard these words from people I have worked with but more recently I heard it from a Sunday School teacher whose father was in critical condition in the hospital. He told of how he went in to visit him and his dad took him by the hand and simply told him, “Keep on keeping on.”
What exactly does “Keep on keeping on” mean? This is what we are told in Galatians 6:9; “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.”
Many of us as we go through this journey called life will at times become frustrated, aggravated, unfulfilled, and grow weary about completing our destination. We become tired and wonder if our goals are in reach. Sometimes we become discouraged because we are not seeing any fruit from our labor. This happens in our occupation, community life, churches, and even in our families. At times in our life we will face conditions that seem like our efforts are useless and wasted. We become tempted to quit what we are doing because we don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Many times, we as Christians, seem to lose sight of what we are trying to do and that is to spread the good news of Jesus to those around us. All of us will face turmoil and tribulation as we go into the world speaking of the goodness and grace that Christ gives to us because the world is full of fleshy ideas and adheres to what Satan is teaching and desiring us to do for him. Being a Christian in an unsaved world takes its toll on us and many times we will give into the temptation of going away from Christ and back into the world of sin.
When we read Galatians 6:9 we see that the Apostle Paul is telling the believers of Galatia to not give in to the desires of the world but remember what the harvest will be if we don’t give up. As a Christian we all understand that we are on this earth for only a short time but our eternal home is with Christ and will be forever and forever.
All of us need to remember that courage is “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc, without fear”. With Jesus Christ as our guide we should be encouraged and realize what we are doing will make a difference if we don’t quit. We need to be persistent in anything that we attempt and never give in to the will of those against us. We need to face fear head on and remember that God has given us the grace to “Keep on keeping on”.
As any good leader will tell you, you can complete your task by keeping your eye on the goal and never let the fear of quitting enter your thinking. For anyone seeking Christ as your Lord and Savior go to your knees in prayer and ask for forgiveness of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart. If you are sincere in doing this your life will be changed forever.
GARY ANDREWS' devotional appears each week on the Church Pages of your Clarksdale Press Register. You can contact him at GARY@gadevotionals.com
