Just Keep Going by Bridget A. Thomas

When my husband and I moved to a new home several years ago, I had a phrase that kept me afloat. Just keep moving. As you likely know from your own experiences, moving to a new home can be overwhelming. For weeks you are packing up items in your old home. You try to strategically pack all unneeded items into neatly labeled boxes. But as you start running out of time, you just start throwing items anywhere. The waffle iron might wind up in the bathroom box or the television remote might wind up in the kitchen box. Then once you are at your new home, the fun is not over. It takes a lot of time and energy to unpack and find new homes for all of your possessions. You might look at all the boxes and feel defeated before you even begin. This is how I felt when we moved. Looking at the mountain of work in front of me, it was tempting to do nothing at all. So I kept telling myself, “Just keep moving.” To me this meant, just do something, anything. It was better than doing nothing. It might have felt like chaos, but every little bit accomplished was still progress.

Recently I was praying and God reminded me of this phrase. I was asking Him about some of the items on my plate, trying to figure out which ones should be removed and which ones should remain. I felt like I had little purpose or impact in some cases, and I wondered if I should lay those activities aside. As I said, God reminded me of this phrase, except He said it a little differently. “Just Keep Going” is what I heard in my heart. That was it. God didn’t give me any other instructions at the time. But that was enough.

In both of these stories – moving to a new home and evaluating tasks on my plate – I was feeling discouraged. The devil is good at making Christians feel discouraged. He is good at getting into our heads and making us question what we thought we knew. In times like these, it is important to just keep going. As it says in Hebrews 12:1, “… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

As Christians we have a calling on our lives, we have a purpose, and we have been appointed. In John 15:16, Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

How amazing it is to know that the Lord chose us and appointed us for a purpose. When the devil tries to bring us down, we cannot lose sight of this truth. Put one foot in front of the other and march forward on the path that the Lord has planned for you.

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© 2020 Bridget A. Thomas