6 or 60...
I am tie-erd. Tired! I know that is absolutely the worst way to start a podcast that is released at
6:00 in the morning, but I'm writing at the end of a long day... a long day of sitting, and
concentrating, and meeting deadlines-some of my own making, some determined by others-
and I ache in the shoulders where I carry tension and fatigue.
I definitely do not wanna go down the road of sharing all my aches and pains, ailments and trips
to the doctor. There's no clearer sign of getting old than making the topic of conversation how
old you are! But you don't have to be old to be tired.
It makes me think of a schtick that personal development guru Jim Rohn used to do... He'd say,
"There's nothing worse than being tired.... Nothing worse than being tired. Unless you're sick
and tired. That's worse than being tired. And there's nothing worse than being sick and tired,
unless you're sick and tired and broke. That's really bad. Nothing worse than being sick and
tired and broke. Unless you're ugly. If you're sick and tired and broke and ugly, well, there's
just no coming back from that!"
Or how about the old Match Game schtick... You have to be getting close to my age to
remember Match Game. I think it's still on the Game Show Network...is that still a thing? And
on YouTube, maybe. Gene Rayburn was the host, and he'd set up the question like so:
"Mary Lou was so tired...." and he'd pause to let the audience respond, "How tired was she
she!?" and he'd continue the question. Mary Lou was so tired she didn't even want to BLANK.
And the guest stars would fill in the blank and try to match the contestant. Bawdy hilarity
ensued!
As I write this, I'm not sick and tired, or broke or ugly, (thank you Jesus), but I might be too
tired to BLANK.... and I'd fill in the blank with WALK. I have this daily step requirement. I
need to walk just under 10,000 steps today to meet my goal on StepBet.
I know what my momma would say. She'd say, I shoulda never gambled with my hard-earned
money! You see, I wagered $40-that's the bet in StepBet-that for six weeks I'll walk a
certain number of steps. If I walk the number of steps I agreed to, I get my $40 back, AND I get
to split with the other stepbetters the stepbet funds left behind by people who don't walk their
steps. I make between 2 and 10 dollars every six weeks. It's a very lucrative investment. But
hey, if I'm gonna walk, might as well get a little something, and I don't even have to pick the
change up off the pavement. It's delivered electronically!
It's crazy that a StepBet will motivate me to walk every day, and honestly, it's not the winning
that does it. It's the Not Losing that keeps me walking. I do NOT wanna lose my $40. So I walk
between 4 and 5 miles a day, six days out of seven.
Except maybe today. I'm too tired. Or am I?
It's a good moment for some Post-It Note wisdom. Something I used to hear in my sales
consultant days:
Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more.
Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more.
So as I'm sitting here contemplating how many more steps I need today to not lose, I have to
make a decision. 6... 6 minutes. In 6 minutes at a good pace, I can finish the thousand or so
steps I need to complete the day's goal.
Or 60! I can wait until tomorrow. I'll have to start all over, and it'll take ten-times 6-60
minutes-to reach the stepbet minimum, and because I lost today, I'll tack on an extra day
because I have to walk 6 days out of 7. Take my break now, when I'm tired, but ooooh so close.
Or tough it out, finish, so that I keep my promise to myself, finish on time, and get a whole
day's rest! So much good work-all that I've already finished today- will be lost for the lack
of just 6 more minutes. 6 or 60. That's my choice. Just how tired am I?
It's not just fatigue that does us in... Or maybe it IS fatigue. Instead of physical tiredness, we get
world weary, discouraged, battle-fatigued. Have you ever uttered the question, "Is is supposed
to be this HARD?" When does it get easy? 6 more minutes of this feels like death! Tomorrow
feels like it will be better. Easier. Even if I have to do more, I'll be fresher, right?
I'm reminded of Joshua. As his book in the Bible opens, he's assuming leadership after Moses.
He'd been Moses's apprentice and right hand, but as Deuteronomy closes, scripture sums up
Moses with this resume: "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the
LORD knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in
Egypt-to Pharoah and to all his officials and to his whole land. For not one has ever shown the
mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of Israel."
(Deuteronomy 34:10-12)
I'm thinking that Joshua may have had reasons to be tired and discouraged. He and Caleb had
been gung-ho for taking the Promised Land, but the unbelief of the other ten who spied out the
land with them were a hard "no" to that adventure. That's discouraging. Then the wandering in
the wilderness for 40 years, and Moses dies before entering the promised land. And it falls to
Joshua to take them over. Joshua, who is no Moses.
I imagine him thinking about Moses leading the children of Israel across the Red Sea, and here
he is with the little Jordan River. Moses and the ten plagues, and the ten spies seeing themselves
as grasshoppers. What was Joshua getting into with this bunch!? I'm tired just thinking about it.
So the book of Joshua opens with God's last-quarter-of-the-game coach inspiration:
After the death of Moses the LORD's servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses'
assistant. He said, 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead
these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise
you what I promised Moses: 'Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you-
4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the
Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea[a] in the west, including all the land of the
Hittites.' 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as
I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the
land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful
to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the
right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of
Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything
written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command-be
strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you
wherever you go."
It's as if God is saying to Joshua, "I didn't bring you this far, just to bring you this far. We're
not gonna lose our work so far for want of a little. More. Let's finish this! Let's get-r-done. Be
strong, be courageous. Be strong AND courageous."
Joshua takes his marching orders to the fighting men that will go ahead of the tribes...the land
these warriors are walking into isn't their part of the inheritance. They're land is on this side of
the Jordan River. They're needed to defend their people. "But your strong warriors, fully armed,
must lead the other tribes across the Jordan to help them conquer their territory. Stay with
them 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the
land the LORD your God is giving them." Joshua 1:14-15
These warriors would rest on their land when the word was done. It's getting the thing done that
brings rest. It's a favorite theme of James and Paul:
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will
receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do
not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he
has promised. (Hebrew 10:35)
And, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)
This word isn't about procrastination... it's about sticking to it. Finishing well. Sometimes
tomorrow is a fine day to finish. Sometimes, a little courage and strength enables us to finish
today. 6 or 60.
I finished my steps tonight. I chose the 6 instead of the 60. The appeal of having Sunday wide
open for no stepbet, no worrying about my quota, was strong enough incentive for me to
persevere.
What could you finish with just a little bit of courage and strength? What work might be lost for
want of juuuust a little more? "...our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:17. Keep going! You'll be so glad
you did!
Father,
Some days the weariness reaches my bones. Then I breathe in deeply and remember that Your
Name is my breath! Your Joy is my strength. I pray for Your strength in my body, when tension
settles in my back and shoulders, when that old knee injury fusses at me, when I ache from
sitting too long in one position. I pray for strength in my mind, when the weight of a fallen
world is too heavy, when my thoughts swirl like a whirlwind, when the enemy whispers in
words of comparison and less-than, and you-can't. I pray for strength in my spirit, when my sin
tries to beset me, when I've inadvertently stepped away from Your Presence, when I've been
focused on me instead of You. You are my strength and my shield; my heart trusts You and
You help me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise You (Psalm 28:7)
I rest in You, Lord Jesus. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
