He never said be first, hustle, reach arbitrary goals, or hit certain numbers. No, he merely said run the race and just keep moving forward until your feet one day cross that finish line.
What do you do when you’ve followed a path to the point that you can’t turn back, you’re exhausted, and the road ahead looks just as daunting. You’ve hit your breaking point, and you find yourself asking, “What have I gotten myself into?”
We try to tell ourselves “keep your eye on the prize” or “good things come to those who wait” or “if it’s worth doing it ain’t easy, and if it’s easy it ain’t worth doing.” And while all of these phrases are true (to some extent), they don’t do much to encourage us when we’re in the thick of it, wondering why we started, what we’ve gotten ourselves into, and how much more we can take.
The Israelites found themselves in this predicament quite often, according to the Old Testament. Through the steady leadership of Moses, God guided them out of Egypt. Once they left Egypt, though, they met one roadblock after another.
Just a week after escaping Egypt, while camping on the beach of the Red Sea, they spotted movement in the distance. The Egyptian army was headed their way with haste. I’m certain the words, “What have I gotten myself into?” were muttered by more than a few frightened refugees. There was nowhere to go, and panic was setting in. They knew their end was near and even asked Moses why he brought them there to die, when they could’ve stayed in Egypt as slaves (Exodus 14:10-12).
Learning to Rely on God
When we’re in this middle ground, it’s hard to remember why we even started. The finish line is so far away, and we just don’t feel like we’ve got it in us to continue. We start to question what we were thinking when we embarked on what now seems like an impossible mission. We start to wonder if it was God’s voice that we heard. We ask, “Did the desires of my heart fail me?” (Psalm 37:4).
You gained a lot of ground, and you felt hopeful, yet here you are staring at your Red Sea, your Goliath, your Jericho wall, and it’s difficult not to pick up your pack and start heading back to where you started.
Yet, you can’t turn back, stopping isn’t an option—forward is the only way.
But how?
Like the Israelites on the shores of the Red Sea, you can’t even begin to imagine a way through.
Contrary to what you may think, this is exactly where God wants and needs you to be so you can move forward. The Red Sea was the first of many challenges God’s chosen people would face, and each time they encountered an obstacle, it was only by fully relying on and trusting God that they made it through.
When you fully depend on God, He parts the waters, tears down walls, and protects you from lions, fiery furnaces, and more.
Resistance is God’s battlefield. This is where He shows the enemy who’s really in control. This is where He jumps in with us and says, “Look what I can do!”
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)
Finding Inner Drive
I’ve found myself asking “What have I gotten myself into?” many times throughout my life, in different types of situations where I’ve experienced physical endurance challenges, major life transitions, and spiritual and creative endeavors in an effort to use my gifts to honor God.
Despite how many times I’ve felt like quitting, there was always something deeper calling me to keep pressing forward. Despite not knowing if my efforts would make any difference, I continued on my journey.
Being able to find this inner drive is absolutely necessary if you’re going to stay in the race and not quit before you reach the finish line. And I get it—we aren’t all wired the same; we don’t all have that same kind of inner drive.
My husband is one of those people who refuses to set aside a project until it’s complete. He’ll stay up all night, forgoing his physical needs for food and rest, if that’s what it takes to get it done. I don’t have that drive, and no matter how hard I try, I never will. I’m just not wired that way, and I’m not saying that any of us have to develop that type of drive.
Instead, what we need to do is grasp onto the Holy Spirit, to the one who gives us the supernatural power to keep pushing on when everything in us says to quit, turn back, and take the easy road.
“Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11 (ESV)
The inner drive isn’t natural to us, but it is a supernatural quality of the Holy Spirit within us, for those who have been saved. If you’re not sure if the Holy Spirit is in you or what it means to be saved, then that should be your next step. (Read Romans 10:9-13 for more on salvation.)
Training for the Hard Times
Life is hard. And in order to be ready for all that life is going to throw at us, we must be prepared; we must train. We need physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual fortitude.
Don’t worry, God isn’t going to just task you with a challenge you’re sure to fail. However, while we like to reassure each other by saying, “He will not give us more than we can handle,” that’s not completely true.
He will give you a little bit more than you can handle so you must ask for help.
The training comes in the form of learning to accept the hard times and relying on God’s strength rather than our own to get through them.
Remember, needing to rely on God is exactly where God wants us to be. If we start thinking we can do it all on our own, we start thinking we don’t need God or others.
The Apostle Paul was highly aware of his weaknesses and willingly accepted and admitted that, apart from God, he was nothing. He could not do what he did on his own. And neither can we.
“But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
One of the ways I build up my grit and resilience is through physical endurance challenges. I register for competitive events that are harder than anything I’ve ever done before and impossible without proper training and preparation.
Last year, I participated in my first duathlon race. It was a trail race, starting with a 10K run, then a 22K mountain bike ride, wrapping up with a 5K run. I chronicled my training and how I was feeling leading up to the event. Sure enough, the feelings of “What have I gotten myself into?” started to creep in as I neared race day.
I questioned my sanity and my ability to complete the race, which was contrary to the excitement I had upon registering a few months earlier. My dreams of getting first place waned (I know, very high hopes) and were replaced with the goal to just complete the race in under four hours.
Here’s the thing: God isn’t asking us to take first place. He’s just asking us to join the race. Nothing more (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The day of the race, I agreed that I would do whatever it took to finish the race, and I would be content with my results, no matter what (even though, secretly, I wanted to stand on the podium). Not only did I complete the race and meet my goal times, but I also received third place in my division.
Sometimes we have to let go of our expectations (the ones we’ve placed on ourselves) and set our sights back on what God has called us to do: run in the race. He never said be first, hustle, reach arbitrary goals, or hit certain numbers. No, he merely said run the race and just keep moving forward until your feet one day cross that finish line.
And here’s the amazing part: when we stop worrying about the inconsequential details that we seem to always concern ourselves with, the running is that much easier, the journey that much more enjoyable—when we say we set aside every weight that slows us down, we can run with ease (and even take in the beauty of all that is around us). The weights that often hold us down are the ones we decided to pick up and carry, not the ones God handed us.
Remember, Jesus says his burden is light, not heavy (Matthew 11:29-30)!
When you find yourself wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into, it’s time to direct your thoughts toward God and instead ask Him to give you the strength to keep moving forward.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/AaronAmat
Jennifer Jabbour resides in the scenic San Diego countryside with her husband, adult son, and teen daughter, and their hilarious English Bulldog. Jennifer has a B.A. in Integrated Business Communications, and is a Go + Tell Gals licensed life coach. Jennifer hopes to use her calling of writing, coaching, and speaking to equip and empower women to clarify their vision and to boldly step forward in response to God's calling on their life, as well as educate and encourage others to experience the abundance of God's goodness when they seek Him first in all that they do. Jennifer is also a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a photographer, and an avid outdoors-woman. She loves camping, hiking, running, and playing the piano in her free time.
You can keep up with Jennifer on her website https://www.jenniferjabbour.
