In the June 1oth issue of The Christian Standard, Wayne Smith wrote an article entitled, “Playing Hurt”. It really was a great article that mirrored Professional Football players with the Christian about how we get hurt through the game of life but how we must keep going.
Today, I want to use something similar with Dads. Dad’s, we too get hurt, tired, frustrated and beat down in the game of Fatherhood and just like a football player or another sport for that matter, we need to suck it up and drive on don’t we? I believe all of us, father or not, deals with a good amount of pain and trials in our lives. Just when we feel as if we are at the top of our game, something happen to us, we get hit hard on various levels. Maybe it’s finances, relationship issues, and or even health. We all experience a certain amount of pain and Dads, we have our own set of pains that come our way that we must keep in check as we strive to not only beat for our own lives but also for our children.
Before I continue with today’s message, I want to make it very clear that I am by no means an expert in parenting; in fact I find more failures than success in my own parenting. But I strongly believe that with God’s guidance I CAN BE A SUCCESS!! And this is something that needs to be shared with us all.
The major problem for us is that we have discouragement all around. So many fathers today are expected to keep going when things are tough. It’s easy to be discouraged as a father in the world we live in today isn’t it? Our world is too accepting of quitters. Divorce and fatherless children are all around us. Men sluff off their responsibilities because their selfish and have no desire to step up to the plate.
Yes, divorce is extremely high in our nation and its’ even cheaper and easier to do than getting married. We see road side signs all over Wichita that promote, cheap, fast, and easy divorces and for some, it’s a temptation to quit and run away from their responsibilities. When the going gets tough, the weak get going and gone.
I do realize that certain situations cannot be avoided and it takes two but it seems we hear more and more about men that simply pack their bags up and abandon their families, this is just the cowards way out and is good for no one.
Jesus tells us in His Scripture, Luke 9:62 “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
Isn’t this what happens? Father’s today can’t hang tough and they start to look back at their life before children and a wife and they do whatever it takes to get their old life back.
Just like following Jesus, we made a covenant before God to be a husband and Fatherhood follows but we can’t put away our old lives. The selfish beasts that we are cries out and we are swayed to break our covenants and go back to the old life we once had. There are too many weak minded Dads in our world today that are willing to accept defeat because they just can’t keep on going.
Dads, we get stressed and we feel as if we are being pulled in ten different directions. Staying focused on one thing at a time can get difficult. Everything piles together and drives us crazy.
VIDEO: “DAD’S DREAM”
The truth is that it’s hard being a husband and even harder being a dad. We deal with doctor appointments, sports, family gatherings, recitals, band concerts, discipline issues, lack of personal time, work, sacrifices upon sacrifices and we get emotionally drained. But we can’t allow it to take us down and we need to,….
I. Learn to Keep Going Even When you’re Emotionally Drained.
A. Our emotions can do one of two things for us. One, they can keep us beat down or two, they can inspire and keep us going.
1. I think about the multitude of emotions that flooded Jesus throughout His life and about how He kept going, never giving up, never looking back, He simply kept going. He didn’t allow His emotions to keep Him from doing what He was to do.
2. Jesus knew what He was meant to do, He knew His responsibilities and He also knew where to find His strength when His emotions drained Him.
3. I think of when He prayed at Gethsemane. He left His disciples to watch over Him while He prayed.
Matthew 26: 36-45 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
4. Can you imagine the emotions that were building inside of Jesus during this time? Here He was with the weight of the world literally on His shoulders and His disciples were slacking off by sleeping.
5. Jesus didn’t allow his emotions to keep Him back, He kept going with all the stresses, with all the problems and with all the disappointments. He just kept going.
6. He gained strength and guidance from His Father in order to keep going.
7. Dads, we too need to gain our strength and guidance from our Father. Go to Him in prayer and keep going back to Him in prayer no matter what. Unlike Jesus, It may take way more than three times but we just keep going and doing what our responsibilities call us to do.
8. We are Dads and this is our God given responsibility and we must keep on going, never giving up. Sure we are going to become frustrated with our kids, no matter how old they may be. We aren’t always going to agree with what or how they do things in life but we need to keep going and understand our role that God has given us.
9. Through all the trials and tribulations that come with being a father, our faith will definitely be tested but we need to,….
II. Learn to Keep Going Even When You’re Faith is Tested.
A. We must understand that it is our faith that will guide each of us into success in whatever it is that we are called to do in this life. We must hang on and keep going!
1. Why do people hang on? Because they’re surrendered to a cause they love. How much do you love what you’re doing? How much do you love God and your children? That’s how long you’re going to keep going.
2. Dad’s when your motive is love; the possibilities within you own personal life is un-limited and even so within the lives of your children as well.
3. The Love I am talking about starts with our Love for God and this Love can and will get us through the tough times.
4. Our children will let us down. They will tick us off, They will test our faith. But we will keep going, doing what we are called to do because of our love for God and for our love for them.
5. God doesn’t give up on us and we can’t give up on our children.
6. Most families have a loved one, child, or brother who has gotten off-track, into drugs, drink or sinful sex. When you have done all you know to do, and when you have given time, money, love and support and nothing changes, you feel hopeless and helpless.
7. You just do not know what else to do. I know it is hard to believe such a thing could happen to an intelligent and blessed person who knows what sin can do. How could they go so deep and so far in sin? Sometimes we don’t know what to do but we must remember what not to do. We must never give up.
Illustration: Years ago a teenage boy was enrolled in a Christian boarding school. This Bible school was operated by faith, very conservative, and controlled by strict rules of conduct. From time to time students were sent home for breaking the rules. In time, the teenage boy was one of those who broke the rules. Sadly, they just gave up on him and sent him home. Of course, this action broke his father’s heart with disappointment. The boy got out of church and into sin, and caused his parents a lot of pain. Other people and family gave up on him because they did not know what to do with him.
His Dad was a faithful member of the group of men at their church who were prayer warriors. These men had prayed sons home from World War II and Korea, and knew this boy was in a war. So they prayed for him as well as their own families. Thank God they did not give up on him!
One morning after he had come back to Christ and recommitted his life to Him his Dad took the boys pillow from his bed, pulled the pillow out of the case, and showed him a small piece of cloth pinned to the pillow. It was a prayer cloth the prayer group had anointed and prayed over. His Dad had pinned it to the boy’s pillow. He had been sleeping on that prayer cloth without even knowing it! They didn’t know what to do, but they did know what NOT to, they knew to keep their FAITH and not to give up!
Conclusion: Are you beat down with emotions? Are you at your wits end, stressed out, going 90 to nothing? Is your faith tested? Men, we have gotta keep going and looking up through all that life throws at us and get more serious with the responsibilities of fatherhood. We can’t allow our flesh to get the best of us. Sometimes we hurt, sometimes we’re weary and beat but we must keep on going.
