Why (The Core)
This is your gut feeling, your purpose, your reason for existing. It's not about making money or getting ahead - that's just the result. Your why is deeper. Maybe it's "I want my kids to know they can overcome anything" or "I believe hard work and integrity still matter" or "I want to show other men it's okay to struggle and still be strong."
“Shake It Off and Step on Up”
There’s a parable about a farmer whose donkey fell into a deep pit.
The animal cried and brayed for hours while the farmer stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, the old farmer decided the donkey was old, the pit needed filled anyway, and it just wasn’t worth the trouble to pull him out.
So he grabbed a shovel.
The neighbors came over and started throwing dirt into the pit.
At first, the donkey panicked.
Every shovel full hit him in the back like another insult from life itself. Another disappointment. Another betrayal. Another problem he didn’t ask for.
But then something changed.
The donkey figured something out.
Every time dirt hit his back… he shook it off and stepped up.
Shake it off.
Step up.
Another shovel.
Shake it off.
Step up.
Bit by bit, the dirt that was supposed to bury him became the very thing that lifted him higher.
Until finally…
That donkey stepped right out of the pit.
Now listen Christopher, if it hasn’t yet, life will throw dirt on you. And people will too.
Some folks will misunderstand you.
Some will betray you.
Some will forget you.
Some will lie on you.
Some will quit on you.
Bills pile up.
Dreams stall out.
Marriage gets hard.
Kids break your heart.
Your body aches.
Your faith gets tested.
And if you aren’t careful, you’ll sit down in that pit of discouragement and despair feeling sorry for yourself while life keeps dumping dirt on top of you.
But the mature man of understanding learn something the immature and naïve boys never do:
You don’t have to let what lands on you bury you.
You can use it to build you.
That divorce?
Shake it off and step up.
That business failure?
Shake it off and step up.
That rejection?
Shake it off and step up.
That addiction?
Shake it off and step up.
That bad diagnosis?
Shake it off and step up.
You may not control what falls on you, but you do control what you do with it.
That’s the difference between the boy who stays buried and the man who climbs out. The fact is, often it is the boy who is in the pit, but as he shakes it off and steps up, that immature boy comes out of the pit a more mature man.
Truck drivers understand this better than most.
You get blown tires.
Missed loads.
Breakdowns.
Bad weather.
Lonely nights.
Dispatch headaches.
People treating you like a machine instead of a human being.
But the road teaches you something:
You keep rolling.
One mile at a time.
One gear at a time.
One sunrise at a time.
And somewhere along the way, the very hardships that could’ve destroyed you become the grit that made you stronger.
The pit becomes your platform.
The dirt becomes your staircase.
The pain becomes your testimony.
Before he got to the palace, 17-year-old, Joseph was thrown into a pit by his very own brothers! Don’t take my word for it, read it for yourself in Genesis 37.
King David fought lions and giants before he wore a crown. Again, don’t take my word for it, read it for yourself in 1 Samuel 17:34-37
The Apostle Paul sat chained in prison while writing words and persuading kings that still change lives 2,000 years later. Don’t believe it? I didn’t make it up. Read it for yourself. Acts 26:28-29
God has always had a habit of using pits as preparation.
So, if you’re in a pit today, hear me clearly:
Don’t waste time crying over every shovel full.
Shake it off.
Step on up.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until one day you climb out stronger than before.
And when you do…
Reach down and help somebody else out too.
