TOO SOON TO QUIT
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
I heard a story of a weak, sickly man. The weak man decided to withdraw from society and die. The man owned a cabin far from any other people. There was a boulder by the edge of the porch, a huge boulder. He rocked on his porch and seemed to grow weaker by the day. He developed a serious cough and would often spit up blood.
One night the man had a dream. The dream was very clear: he was to push that boulder for six hours a day. Jesus was the one that gave him the command, and three times in the dream Jesus spoke clearly, "Push that rock. Push that rock every day. Push the rock with all your strength and might."
The man was awakened by the spring's golden sun rays coming into the window. He got out of bed with a clear order and purpose. He ate his breakfast, went out to the edge of the porch and started pushing. He pushed long and hard. Soon sweat popped out and ran down his face. Every day, rain or sun shine the man was faithful to spend the hours pushing against the huge boulder. Day after day, he obeyed the command of His Lord and pushed the rock. He only stopped to rest for a brief period of time and to eat.
One day in the fall of the year the man was sitting on the edge of his porch. He looked at the huge rock that he had pushed on all spring and summer. Now the leaves were falling from the tree...
The man pondered in his heart... I wonder how many feet have I pushed this stone? The man had not established a criteria to measure his success? So the man measured the rock's distance from the porch and several other angles. He would push for several hours and then measure the rock. To the man's heartbreak, after two weeks of pushing the rock and measuring, he had not moved the rock even 1/1000th of an inch. The rock had not moved the many days that he had pushed against it.
The man decided not the push the rock anymore. The dream had faded.
Maybe he did not question God. Maybe he questioned his ability to hear from God? The man sat idle on the porch a few days. He prayed and prayed and it seemed as if his prayers were in vain.
One day, Jesus appeared on the porch with the man. Jesus asked him, "How are you feeling?" The man said, "Wonderful. Jesus asked about his eating, and the man's appetite had grown. Jesus then reminded the man of his terrible cough and the blood. The man got to thinking his cough had been gone for months. Jesus told the man, "Go look in the mirror."
The man stepped over in front of the mirror. He was once a weak, sickly man. Now he was strong, muscular and stood straight as an arrow. The man was amazed.
Jesus said, "I never asked you to move the rock. I asked you to push against the rock. While you pushed against the obstacle, I changed you. I stretched you. The obstacle made you a well, strong man."
IT IS ALWAYS TOO SOON TO QUIT.