Sticking to it

I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame! Psalm 119v31 (KJV)

It seems like there are all kinds of schemes and plans and ideas and recipes for making in the Christian life. People have all kinds of ideas about what we can do or not do to be a ‘success.’ While the word of God does have plenty of teaching on living the Christian life, sometimes, even while doing that, we get to the point that we just don’t know what to do.

Sometimes though, as harsh as it sounds, the solution is pretty simple – just stick to it. The problem is that we don’t live in a stick-to-it society. Couples don’t want to get married because it means a commitment. Athletes no longer spend a career at one team because they are always looking for a better offer. Though long term employment has undeniable benefits people jump from one job to the next.

Whatever happened to sticking with it? One of the greatest examples of sticking with it is an American baseballer named Cal Ripkin. In a generation where sports stars jump from team to team almost at the drop of the hat Ripkin player his entire 21 career with one team – the Baltimore Orioles. Not only that, he played in 2,632 straight matches. That means he played almost 17 baseball seasons without missing a single game. His attitude about the whole thing was simple – he was just doing his job.

When I read Christian biographies I often find the same attitude. Godly men and women just do what God wants them to do and stick with it no matter what.

Where do we find the ability to stick with it? The psalmist has the answer – ‘I have stuck unto thy testimonies…’ We choose to stick with God and His word. We just do our job.

Ripkin was a great player. Along the way he had some memorable highlight during his career. There were some great days. But that vast majority of those 2,632 days were just going out and playing the game.

As we live for Christ we are going to have a few of those great days. But most of the time be a successful Christians means that we just stick to God’s word and ‘do the job.’

And you know what? That’s not such a bad thing.