I walked along the wet pavement, looking down at my feet as a light mist covered my face. I sensed someone approaching, and glanced up. There was Henry, walking toward me. His crew cut and chiseled features were in contradiction to his upbeat, cheerful voice. “How’s it going?” he asked. “I’m surviving,” is what came out of my mouth.
Then he said it. I can remember it as if only a few moments had passed; yet it’s been decades since it happened. “Anyone can survive,” he stated, matter-of-factly, and passed me by.
“Anyone can survive!? Who is he kidding?” I thought. “What does he know about survival? I’m the one in classes to become a missionary, putting in the long periods of study followed by hours at work, and Henry works with heating and plumbing for crying out loud! How can he possibly know what I’m going through?” I told myself as I continued on.
Over the years I came to understand that Henry knew a great deal about survival. He still labors as faithfully for the Lord as he did when he began serving Him years ago. All of these years, unrewarded—at least by earthly measurements. Never once did I hear him complain, even over the years that he and his wife cared for their severely retarded son. Henry knew how to live in a close-knit relationship with Christ that drew him beyond the daily routine. He could see the eternal value of everything he did.
Survival. At its basic level, it simply means to come out on the other side—alive. Not necessarily that you did something heroic, but more along the line of having endured. To make it through something difficult.
But Christ has so much more in mind for us than merely surviving, simply existing or just going through the motions. I know it’s an easy trap to fall into. Especially in these tough economic times that are pummeling so many leaders and their organizations. It’s easy to begin to believe that it’s time to back off a bit, grind it out and try to make it through in one piece.
You can begin to allow a hopeless feeling to creep in. You’ve invested significant time leading your organization, driving toward change, streamlining operations and improving the front-line. Yet when you take time to step back and look, the marble block you’ve been working on seems to have no more shape or form than when you first began.
And the weight of “what does it matter,” and “what am I contributing” pushes you further and further toward survival mode. Beginning to believe that most of the things you’re giving yourself to aren’t really worth the time and effort if you can’t see progress.
Survival mode is the first step in what really is a downward spiral. It’s the first signpost on the path toward that “root of bitterness” that scripture warns us about. And that bitterness is what causes so many to finish poorly.
So, what’s the antidote? How do we get past enduring to engage again? How do we fight the negativity that comes from seeing the waters of our endeavors stagnate? What can we do when we see that we’ve moved from succeeding to survival?
We can begin by recognizing that it is cause for great excitement when we understand that we are in survival mode! This is because it means that God has some new thing that He wants us to see. Without the difficulty, without the frustration that comes with the plateau, we would probably never move out in new and creative ways.
But you reply; “I can’t see it!” You won’t see it until you force your thinking out of the ruts and patterns you have carved out for your thoughts. You’ve got to change it up, find a new perspective and approach it with new creativity, as if you just walked into the circumstance for the first time.
You must believe beyond what you can see that He has the solution for you to thrive. He has promised that He will always lead us into triumph in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14). He is sure to lead, but we must place ourselves in the position of following.
I saw Henry the other day. He greeted me in his usual, cheerful voice: “How’s it going?” He asked. “Great!” I replied. “Anyone can survive.” I thought.
a timely word of encouragement
Posted by: Chad | December 24, 2008 at 05:53 AM