View from a Pew: Get Up Anyway

Stop making excuses. Stop rehearsing the reasons why you haven’t done better up until this point. “It was my mama.” “It was my daddy.” “It was my environment.” “It was my disability.” “It was what they did to me.”

Listen — I’m not dismissing your pain. I’m not denying your struggle. What happened to you was real. What you faced was hard. But what you do next? That’s on you.

Our history is peppered with people who had predicaments and still made progress. They had obstacles, but they did not let obstacles have them. They had deficiencies, but they refused to let their deficiencies define them.

Somebody had less than you and still made it. Somebody was counted out and still came out. Somebody was told “you can’t” and still did. You can’t be the first one in human history to face hardship. And you don’t have to be the first one to overcome it either. The blueprint already exists.

The problem is this — we want perfect conditions before we move. We say: “When everything lines up…” “When all my ducks are in order…” “When I feel ready…” “When they apologize…” “When the money is right…” But Jesus didn’t tell the man at the pool, “Wait until the water looks calm.” He said, “Get up.” Not after a debate. Not after a committee meeting. Not after a therapy session. He said, “Get up.” And without deliberation, without discussion, without excuses — the man got up and started moving toward the pool.

Now here’s the part that will bless you: He was blind. He couldn’t see the pool. He didn’t know exactly how he would get there. But he started moving anyway. How in the world does a blind man find a pool? I don’t know. But I know this — you don’t have to see the whole path to take the first step. Some of you are waiting to see it all before you move. God is waiting on you to move before He shows it all.

Before your life is over, circumstances will not always go your way. Doors will close. People will disappoint you. Systems will fail you. Your body might limit you. Your background might challenge you. But you still have a God who says, “Get up.” Not when you feel like it. Not when it’s fair. Not when it’s easy.

Get up now. Stop explaining why you’re stuck and start moving like you’re called. Stop defending your delay and start walking in your destiny. Stop waiting for permission and start obeying instruction. Because progress doesn’t belong to the perfect — it belongs to the persistent.

And sometimes the miracle doesn’t meet you where you’re sitting. It meets you while you’re moving. So today, from this pew, I’m telling you: Get up. Move anyway. Trust anyway. Build anyway. Try again anyway. You may not see it clearly. You may not feel ready. You may not have all the answers. But start moving. Because excuses keep you comfortable. Movement changes your life.