How tough are you?

It might be easier for you to answer that question honestly if we agree on terms. So, here are a few definitions of the word tough from Dictionary.com:

strong and durable; not easily broken or cut

not brittle or tender

capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy

not easily influenced; unyielding; stubborn

practical, realistic, and lacking in sentimentality

So based on that definition, I ask again: how tough are you?

I am asking this question because I am convinced that in order to walk in the purpose, blessing, and favor of God, you gotta be tough. In order to raise a family, you gotta be tough. In order to maintain your sanity in a cruel and unfair world, you gotta be tough. in order to climb the corporate ladder and prosper financially, you gotta be tough. In order to manage the demands of your family and friends and the envy of your enemies, you gotta be tough.

Toughness is an often ignored and frequently undervalued element in the formula for enduring success. We tend to overemphasize talent and underemphasize toughness. Now let’s be clear: talent is necessary, and must be consistently developed at every phase of one’s journey. But talent without toughness will never amount too much. The tough will beat the talented every time.

I was reminded of the value of toughness earlier this week. Bishop Charles E. Blake, the legendary pastor of West Angeles COGIC Church in Los Angeles, revealed to his congregation that he was officially stepping back from many of his duties as Senior Pastor because he had been battling Parkinson’s disease for the past decade. Bishop Blake has served that congregation for 50 years, and for the last 10, he has continued to lead them despite the war that was being waged in and on his body. At no point during his struggle do I recall ever him mentioning his struggle. Like a good solider, he put his uniform on and went to work every day. That is more impressive than any building he has ever built, any sermon he has ever preached, any organization he has ever lead, and any cause he has ever advanced.

After hearing his testimony, I gained a new appreciation for his strength. I also began to wonder how many other people in various walks on life just solider on. With no complaints, appeals for sympathy or understanding, they keep keeping on.

Despite the pain their bodies, they keep keeping on.

Despite the hurdles in their path, they keep keeping on.

Despite the disappointments they have endured, they keep keeping on.

To keep keeping on requires emotional, psychological and spiritual strength. You gotta be tough.

My assignment this morning is to inform you that the purpose that God has for your life is going to require toughness.

One of the methodologies that God employs to build toughness is to schedule a detour. This divine strategy is described in Exodus 13:17:

It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn’t lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, “If the people encounter war, they’ll change their minds and go back to Egypt. So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea….

God was leading the children of Israel to the promised Land. And although there was a shorter, easiest path leading to the destination, that isn’t the route God that God decided to lead them down. God instructed Moses to lead them through the wilderness because he realized that they were not strong enough to fight. Although they looked like an army, they weren’t prepared for battle. They were armed, but they were not dangerous. They weren’t tough enough to face the challenges that would have awaited them on the shorter path, so God arranged a season of isolation, preparation, and revelation that was designed to fortify their strength. God arranged a detour.

This is one of the reasons why we should never complain about where we are in our lives. It could be that God has assessed our strength, and has concluded that we are not tough enough for the blessings that we desire and that he intends to give us. There may be a shorter path to our desire—but shorter doesn’t always mean better. Without the requisite toughness, we won’t be able to stay in our promised Land.

Remember: God just doesn’t want you to get to the promised land. God wants you to stay there. And in order to stay there, you’re gonna have to be tough.

Everything you have ever gone through, and everything that you are going through right now is God’s way of toughening you up.

Delayed does not mean denied.

Don’t let your detours discourage, depress, or defeat you.

They are designed to toughen you up.

God is preparing you the same way he prepared Jeremiah many centuries ago:

Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.

I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,

Immovable as a steel post,

solid as a concrete block wall. Jeremiah 1:19 MSG