A member of our church recently had his foot amputated.  At eighty years old, he has to work very hard to regain muscle strength if he is going to be able to get around with a prosthetic foot.  His neighbour came to visit, and when he saw the exercises, he called them “impressive.”

My friend and brother’s response?  “It’s nothing impressive. You do what you have to do.”

The Christian life is often difficult. Things come into our lives that we didn’t expect, didn’t want, and may feel unprepared to handle. We can look at the wind and the waves of life, the way Peter did on the Sea of Galilee, and begin to sink, or we can “do what you have to do.”

We follow Christ’s example and “run the race that is set before us.” It would be silly to expect an easy race – Jesus’ race wasn’t. It would be silly to expect everyone to be on our side and support us perfectly. It wasn’t like that for Jesus. It would be silly to expect life without trials – Jesus had them. It would be silly to stop “doing what you have to do” because “the trials are too hard” or because of what someone else does.

God brings us through – if we accept trials on His terms. Otherwise, we don’t “do what you have to do,” and that always makes things worse.

Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I Corinthians 10:13

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.