Proverbs 22:29  See thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

      The fortitude that it takes to be victorious is sometimes lacking within our souls. We lose backbone when things get difficult. The Christian walk is not for wimps, it is for the courageous. Sometimes we start watering down the Gospel so that we are not offensive to the world, but I am sorry, there are no padded crosses. Crucifixion was cruel and horrifying. There was a lot of bloodshed at Golgotha. Being nailed to a cross is not something that can be packaged with soft and feel good words. Isn’t there an easier way than this? No, there isn’t! Christ crucified is the only way to our Father God.
      Anything important will take effort and most often some personal bravery. Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Norman Vincent Peale said, “The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” Nelson Mandela said, “Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.” These are people who should know what it takes to overcome and be a winner, because they all tasted some major defeats along the way to their successes. 
      Prov. 10:4 He becomes poor that deals with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent makes rich. It is interesting that Jesus, when He was twelve years old, saw what He was doing was His father’s business. Luke 2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? There was a diligence that Jesus had already adopted in His heart toward what God had prepared for Him.
     I love reading and hearing the stories of people who overcame outrageous odds to accomplish the dreams that were sown within their hearts. Most of them could tell you that there were no padded crosses along the way. God has put great skill and ideas within people to accomplish the will of the Lord within this earth, and sometimes there will be great costs to accomplish our life’s goals and dreams. Ex. 31:3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 
      God has put within us the seeds of His craftsmanship to create and rise above the obstacles in life. Our God puts within us desires for our life’s fulfilment and desires of God that fulfil the eternal plan He has. This will still take work and breakthrough. Someone said, “God gives the nuts, but He does not crack them.” Psalm 21:2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withhold the request of his lips. Selah
     We sometimes forget the costs that some of the biblical patriarchs paid to do the great things that were sown in their hearts. Moses never did enter the promise land but was used to bring God’s people to its’ border. Joseph struggled many years to see the fulfilment of his dream from when he was a young man. Abraham and Sarah waited a lifetime to have their son that was promised. There was a four hundred year wait from the word of God in Malachi till John the Baptist started proclaiming the arrival of the savior. 
      There are some things I have been waiting for in my walk with the Lord, and it feels like a long time coming and the cross I am carrying starts to feel rough and uncomfortable; however, there is a day of blessing for me and that I am sure of. 1 Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 
      We have to remember that God knows why He created us and for what we are capable of in His kingdom. Job 28:23 God understands the way thereof, and he knows the place thereof. We must remember we are part of a larger plan then just ourselves. 
      May we all commit to staying diligent to the call of God and remain faithful to His love toward us. Job 6:8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Oh God, give us the strength to be who You created us to be and live it out in your Lordship, in Jesus name. Amen.