"They've kicked me around ever since I was young" —this is how Israel tells it— "They've kicked me around ever since I was young, but they never could keep me down." Psalm 129:1 (MSG)
Perseverance in the midst of trial is the path to maturity. Which one of us is able to look back at the road we've walked and see nothing but beautifully flat, easy boulevards behind us? We have all attempted short-cuts that turned into painful detours. We've all walked through our own deep valleys. And, we've all experienced the exhilaration of the occasional mountain top.
When I was younger, I used to listen to Bob Dylan's album, Saved, over and over again. One of the songs that has stuck with me to this day is a song called Pressin' On. To this day, whenever I feel "kicked around" I hear this song welling up inside of me urging me to keep to the journey.
Press on.
Let them be like grass in shallow ground
that withers before the harvest,
As I meet more and more people, it is interesting to observe how so many people are “nominal Christians”. The faith they exercise is not very deep and doesn’t penetrate their everyday life. I personally feel that it is very important to grow deep roots on your faith. During times of severe drought or pain, those deep roots will keep you strong.
Cool how different artists have had different takes on the same passage that speak to different people.
Thanks for a good post, Tom. Maybe not as cool, but same message is Selah’s song “Press On” from quite a few years back. I think of it too when I am just trying to make it through sometimes.