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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ~ Thomas Edison  

I Love this quote, To me, it is a reminder that everything has a price tag;

At work, we may want a good paycheck, but we don’t want to work longer hours.

In sports, we may desire to play on a team, but we lack the desire to practice

Or in music, we may wish to be a Mozart, but lack the persistence it takes to become more than an enthusiast.

Likewise, we may want to paint like Rembrandt without putting in hours of learning and practice.

Our desire does not match our drive.   We all, at one time or another, have had things we wanted to do, but the desire did not consume us.  So at some point, we gave up the dream, the yearning.

Occasionally, this carries over into our spiritual life as well.
We want to be a strong Christian, forgetting that strength comes as a result of adversity, trials.  So when we face a “rough patch”, we back away and choose an easier path.

We hope to be close to God, lacking the enthusiasm to set time aside for God.  So we settle for 5 minutes before bed and wonder why God is distant.

I think of the story of Jacob.  He was on his way back to Canaan with all he had accumulated while working for Laban.  He feared his brother would kill him.  As he spent that night in the camp, in fear, unsure of the outcome, Jacob wrestled with a man.  He didn’t wrestle for five minutes or ten minutes or an hour but all night because he wanted a blessing.   Imagine wanting something so strongly that you would contend all night for it.  As I think of this, and the story Jesus told of a persistent widow, I realize how often I fall short.  I am not tenacious enough to keep coming back, to struggle all night.

I wonder how many times God wants to bless us, but he is waiting for us to contend with him.  Perhaps we miss great blessings because, like other things in life, they have a price tag.  My desire is to become firmer in my spiritual life.  
I don’t want to;

miss being close to God because it was hard,

or receiving God’s blessing because it didn’t happen right away

or lose out on becoming a strong Christian because it meant facing adversity.
Do you?  Don't let the price tag deter you.   
                                      

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