Being Tough Enough To Take It On The Chin!

So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen!— to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It's the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.Paul to Timothy


This is a powerful passage! Scripture and Christianity isn't for spiritual or physical wimps - when the going gets tough the tough get going.But even if you are fearful and scared, God can give you His strength!

What initially kept me from fully giving myself over to Christ was the thought that it was for ‘mummy's boys’ and ‘softies’. I reckoned my Dad was as manly as they came (he was a blue collar, John Wayne and Charlton Heston type, and my hero since I was a little boy!), but as he didn't go to church much, and when I looked at those who did, I (wrongly) assumed they were all a bit soft!

I knew Christ was fearless but I needed to meet an ordinary Christian who also showed the same toughness and fearlessness!

Then I heard about the Russian Christian soldier called Vanya who was tortured to death for his his faith-that almost did it!

It was however a surprise to me by what finally convinced me that God was real and that I should follow Him.He sent two of his young servants to the Housing Estate where I lived-both of them were small -one would have perhaps been described as ugly,the other 'a skinny wimp’! They were certainly both uncool and not my idea of what a 'real man' was.Yet I was convicted by their courage and fearlessness. If God could take away the 'fear of man' in these guys (they would have had a hard enough time as it was, without going round telling people about Jesus in a Housing Estate),he was sure to be real and could change even the most fearful heart:He could even change mine! He did too-and He eventually changed my Dad's heart as well!

Sometimes as a Christian you have to fight-sometimes we must give in and walk away but sometimes we must be firm and take a stand. Read the life of Jesus and Paul and you will see that they were never pushed over when things got scary. Christ threw the money changers out of the Temple and Paul never minced his words when he believed false teachers were trying to lead his converts astray!The thing is- we need to know when to speak out and when to shut up, which means we need to get as close as we can to God,listen to the Spirit within and learn to hear his voice.AK