The journey of life is tough, never easy.

As the late Adrian Rogers said, “you are either headed for a storm, in a storm, or coming out of a storm,” as he referred to the journey of life. One can’t avoid difficult journeys, hard things, the uncomfortable. Sickness, death, severed relationships, etc. will happen. These are unavoidable. God wants to be an anchor in these storms.

But, outside of uncontrollables like the ones mentioned above, we are each faced with difficult, hard things where we have a choice, run or stay.

The tendency in all of us is to run. But, isn’t it motivating to see those who go against culture, those who stay? Those who have the resilience, the desire, to power through the difficult seasons. Those that have the passion, the drive to stay.

How do they do it? They understand their mission, why they are in the game.

Paul is a picture of a man that knew his mission and remained solidly focused on his goal.

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 9:15, 16

Paul had a very clear mission. Proclaim the name of Christ to the Gentiles, their kings, and the people of Israel.

And, Jesus also let Paul know what he would face. A word we do everything to avoid. Suffering.

Christ promised Paul that hard things would come his way, and, arguably more than anyone in the Bible, Paul repeatedly faced extreme persecution.

Out of the gate, on his first journey, we see Paul ran out of Iconium and stoned until the people thought he was dead in Lystra. Paul describes his moments of suffering in a letter to the church in Corinth.

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 1 Corinthians 11:23-28

Despite the suffering, the difficulties, Paul stayed true to his mission. Relentlessly.

How opposite Paul’s approach is to our culture today. We avoid hard things at all costs.

If the going gets hard, we run. The evidence is in severed marriages, job-hopping, friendships, you name it, and we teach, through our actions, run from the hard. Find someone that stays, that endures, and you find an exception.

We see this playing out with the college transfer portal. There are great reasons to transfer from one team to another, maybe. For example, an NIL deal. I get it. But, I sometimes wonder if we teach kids that when the going gets tough, you transfer?

One quality fights the “run” mentality. Loyalty.

Loyalty to a spouse. Loyalty to a friend. Loyalty to a company. Loyalty to a team.

And, the deepest form of loyalty occurs when someone recognizes the grace of God.

Paul was a murderer of anyone that followed Jesus. In Acts 9, in an instant, he was changed. The God of the universe came to Paul, granted him grace and forgiveness for his past actions, and gave him a mission. This grace created loyalty, giving him staying power. Because of the undeserved grace given to Paul, he loved God much.

The same is true for us. When one recognizes the grace of God in their life, the fact that there is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for another, a change occurs. The recognition of this grace creates extreme loyalty.

And, loyalty creates staying power.

Facing something hard today? Go to the one who gives grace. Let Him guide you.

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