I'll Keep Pushing Against Brick Walls

Bits of weeds, dirt, bugs, and sticks scattered. I walked and pushed, walked and pushed. Behind me fell a neat line of cut foliage. 

I smiled. My shoulders dropped. If having an open mouth hadn't been a hazzard, I would have sang. 

If only all of God's tasks for us were like this: One job at a time. Predictable outcomes. Visual progress.

Many things in my life require work of the mind, heart, and body with no confirmation of results. With faith I keep pushing against bricks walls. 

Are you pushing brick walls, too? Are you fighting for a marriage that feels like it is crumbling around you? Are you attempting to teach manners to a defiant child? Are you battling a disease? Are you holding the hand of a friend deep in depression? Brick walls come in many shapes and sizes. 

Have you read the story The Unmoved Rock? If you haven't, you must. To summarize, God asked a man to push against a rock all day, everyday. The man did so for years. Eventually he became discouraged and cried out to God. God showed him how much the man had grown by performing the hard task. He had grown strong and resilient. But, He told the man that God was the the one that could move the rock.  (Read the full story here. From Bible.org)

Today I am thankful for mowing, for a task where I can see results. But for all those other things that I am struggling for, I must instead look at the progress inside myself. I look at the patience I have gained, the ability to laugh and shake off little hurts, the heart that is learning to run to God for completeness...

Thank you, God, for having me push for the impossible. I will do the work, but remember that it is You who moves the mountains. 

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14, ESV 

What are you fighting for today? Even if you don't see much progress out in the world, do you see the progress in you?