The Challenge of Staying Challenged

Last night at our home church we were challenged with the challenge of staying challenged. It’s not as silly as it sounds.

Facing and overcoming challenges is what makes life meaningful. It’s not always easy to stay challenged.

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows I’m a sports fan and in particular a Florida Gator fan. It’s a great time to be both because Florida’s mens basketball team is number one in the country. They just completed the regular season only losing two games. They were undefeated in conference play.

This week is the conference tournament. To win the tournament Florida has to win three games over teams they probably beat twice during the regular season. Any coach will recognize this as a trap situation. The Florida coach will have to work hard to keep his team focused and aware that no matter how favored his team is, each game must be played with complete energy and focus.

Compare lowly Mississippi State. They only won three conference games all year. To win the tournament they will have to win five games against teams they have already defeated them, sometimes twice. They face an entirely different challenge. They have to avoid hopelessness, do their best and have some fun and pray for a miracle.

It’s a challenge to stay challenged. If we are going through a period of defeat, it’s easy to stop playing. We can retreat from life and just vegetate from day-to-day. When our Christian walk is like this we need to remember the victory is already won. We need to get up and get going.

When victory has become easy, we need to realize that we may need to step it up. Are we really playing the toughest teams? Are we really using every gift that God has given? Are we going beyond our gifts and accepting challenges that can only be overcome if we rely completely on God?

It’s a challenge to stay challenged, but being in the fight is what life is all about. Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get in the fray.

And Go Gators.