Here’s a question I came across the other day. I modified it some to suit my purpose.
Ask yourself: Is there a path that I could walk down that would be so rich, so rewarding, and meaningful that I would find the challenge of dealing with the nasty and ugly things in life ennobling and worthwhile? (main idea from Jordon Peterson)
Let’s give that path a name: the path to the Promised Land.
So tell me: What is your Promised Land? What for you is something you so desire to be or see happen through your life that you can say with the psalmist, “I run in the path of your commands for you have broadened my understanding”?
IOW’s because you have put a vision before my eyes of living a life so ravishingly delightful that I cannot hunger and thirst for it enough.
If you don’t have any vision of your life that you just yearn to be, then what have you allowed to highjack your attention?
And where do you plan to get sufficient inspiration to keep on obeying God when the going gets tough and you really don’t want to?
Have you noticed this? You will not make a sacrifice — give up something you presently value, a possession, a habit or routine — until you believe that what you stand to gain from giving it up is worth it.
Look closely enough and you will realize that you make sacrifices all day long. You sacrifice spending time doing one activity because you consider it more worthwhile to do something else. Every time you pay for something you are sacrificing the time and effort those dollars represent because you consider what you're getting worth it.
Every sacrifice in scripture is predicated on that principle, even Jesus’ sacrifice. Remember this?
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NET)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”
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And in the OT sacrifices the same principle was at work. If an Israelite valued his relationship to God and yet disobeyed God, he would bring to the temple something of value to him and consider it worth it to sacrifice it in order to be restored to fellowship with God.
In Deuteronomy — God set before his people a blessed life in the Promised Land as a worthwhile reason for obeying him. Not to mention the additional incentive of avoiding a heap of trouble by loving God and remaining true to him.
If you are having a hard time doing the right thing, ask yourself what’s missing? What’s missing is something to aspire to that is so valuable to you that it fires you up to stay true to God.
We can lean into doing right and avoiding wrong — no matter what it is — if we have a desirable enough reason.
But if such a reason is missing in your life, ask the Lord to reveal to you more of his purpose for you. What he will show you will become for you a “Promised Land” that will be well worth your every effort to become.
