Imagine yourself blowing up a balloon. You take deep breaths and blow with all your might to get it started...sometimes this even hurts my ears. You continue the deep breaths and puffing until your face turns red. Every once in a while you pinch the balloon end and hold it out to assess your work. Is it big enough yet? Can you stop blowing yet? Can you tie it off now? Just then, your fingers slip and the balloon goes chaotically flying through the air, spitting and sputtering all that hard earned hot air of yours out into space. You sigh... you might feel frustrated at yourself for letting go. Now you've got to do it all over again. You feel... deflated.
This is how I feel sometimes. I work so hard, I'm so careful, I check my work, but no matter what, the tinies of slips, and it's all lost. You look around and it seems like progress is being made, but then something happens to the fragile balance and everything crashes.
Go pick up that deflated balloon. Put it back up to your mouth. Muster up the will power to take another deep breath and blow. Huh... it wasn't as hard that time was it? The latex of the balloon was still a little stretched out from the last try.
Look to your left, did you forget there is a person sitting next to you? It's your helper. Your helper reaches over and pinches off the balloon for you. You work together in a jumble of fingers to get it tied. Then there is that glorious moment when you release it and... it floats gently away, holding air. Until... pop. It hits something sharp. Sigh... you might feel frustrated at yourself for not taking better care of the balloon you just worked so hard to inflate. Now you've got to do it all over again. You have to start over completely. You feel... deflated.
Look. Things aren't going to be easy. You will not always win. But God does. God always wins in the end. There is so much work left to be done here on Earth, and it's urgent. Jesus is coming soon folks, like soon! I know you are tired. I know you are frustrated. I know you feel burnt out. I know you feel deflated. Something I always say "tongue-in-cheek" is, "You can sleep when you are dead."
Your helper pats you understandingly on the shoulder, and without a word, holds out another balloon to you. You smile at each other, muster up your will power, take a deep breath, and blow.
That is all God is asking you to do. Keep blowing. He will be there to offer a pinched finger when your fingers slip. He will be there to hand you a new balloon when yours breaks. He will be there to supply you with the breath, you just have to keep blowing.
This is how I feel sometimes. I work so hard, I'm so careful, I check my work, but no matter what, the tinies of slips, and it's all lost. You look around and it seems like progress is being made, but then something happens to the fragile balance and everything crashes.
Go pick up that deflated balloon. Put it back up to your mouth. Muster up the will power to take another deep breath and blow. Huh... it wasn't as hard that time was it? The latex of the balloon was still a little stretched out from the last try.
Look to your left, did you forget there is a person sitting next to you? It's your helper. Your helper reaches over and pinches off the balloon for you. You work together in a jumble of fingers to get it tied. Then there is that glorious moment when you release it and... it floats gently away, holding air. Until... pop. It hits something sharp. Sigh... you might feel frustrated at yourself for not taking better care of the balloon you just worked so hard to inflate. Now you've got to do it all over again. You have to start over completely. You feel... deflated.
Look. Things aren't going to be easy. You will not always win. But God does. God always wins in the end. There is so much work left to be done here on Earth, and it's urgent. Jesus is coming soon folks, like soon! I know you are tired. I know you are frustrated. I know you feel burnt out. I know you feel deflated. Something I always say "tongue-in-cheek" is, "You can sleep when you are dead."
Your helper pats you understandingly on the shoulder, and without a word, holds out another balloon to you. You smile at each other, muster up your will power, take a deep breath, and blow.
That is all God is asking you to do. Keep blowing. He will be there to offer a pinched finger when your fingers slip. He will be there to hand you a new balloon when yours breaks. He will be there to supply you with the breath, you just have to keep blowing.