He's not done with us.

We recently drove to North Carolina to celebrate our nephew’s first birthday. About forty minutes into the trip home, Zachary started fussing. I turned around to face the backseat. “What’s wrong, Zach?”

He threw up his arms in the sign for ‘finished’ and yelled, “Done!” Zachary had had enough and he wanted us to know so. Unfortunately, we still had ten hours to go before reaching home.

This trip was our third long venture since the end of May. Since getting our minivan, we’ve gone to Virginia Beach, Indiana and now North Carolina. In a couple weeks we will be embarking on yet another. This time to Kentucky and Tennessee.

Many have called us ‘brave’ traveling so far with such young tots. At thirteen and thirty-one months, our kids could spell disaster. They’re actually very good. They entertain themselves with books and games; toys and snacks. Of course, the dvd player helps significantly after the first few hours of novelty wear off. And, of course, there are the never-ending questions … “Are we there yet?” “We’re getting closer – right?” “Are we catching Grandma?” “Daddy, where we going? You driving?” “Mama’s turn drive yet?” It’s not always easy, but we survive.

The reason for all these trips does not stem from masochistic natures. Nor is it because we love spending hours upon hours trapped in the car. We do it because we must. With family in seven states, travel is a necessity. We tried flying – with disastrous results. So we drive pretty much everywhere.

Life is filled with things that we must do. We don’t always have a choice. There are many times I find myself throwing up my arms like Zachary. “I’m done!” I don’t want to deal anymore. I’m tired and certainly tired of the ‘have-to’s. Do you ever feel that way? Sure, you do. Everybody does. So, how do we get through it? The author of Hebrews tells us.

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12: 1-3

Even when we are “done”, we still have not faced even a portion of what Christ went through to grant us salvation. I’m not saying life is easy. It’s not! But it could be so much worse.

But don’t just remember the suffering of Christ. Remember, too, His power, His goodness and His love. All of these are at your disposal, if you have placed your faith in Him. If we keep our eyes on Him, we will not grow weary because we will constantly be facing His strength. We will be looking into the eyes of our Savior, recognizing all that He has done and all that He continues to do for, in and through us. We will not be saying “I’m done!” Instead we will say “Give me more!”

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.” -- Hebrews 10:35-36

God has so much He wants to give us. It doesn’t stop at salvation. He wants to give us wisdom and strength, joy and faith and peace and love. He wants to give us life abundant. Life like we have never known. We will miss it all when we throw up our hands.

Fix your eyes on Jesus, my friend. Don’t just glance at Him. Fix your eyes! Get them focused so that you may see Him in all His wonder and glory. Don’t let them move away from His face. I want you to be blessed. I want you to receive all that He has promised! Get your eyes stuck and persevere. Run with me! God's not done with us yet.