Do you have true grit? Grit is standing up for what you know is right. It requires a certain resolve and perseverance.
One of my favorite movie characters of all times is Marshal Rooster Cogburn played by John Wayne in the original production of True Grit. This may well have been Wayne’s best ever performance, capping a 50-year movie career.
What I remember is simply the tenacious attitude he portrayed as he tracked down Mattie Ross’ father’s killer with Mattie and Texas Ranger La Boeuf by his side. Casting Wayne in this role was simply genius!
Enough about the movie. Now let’s take a hard look at grit itself and just how it applies to all of our lives today. We need to take a stand for what we know is right, and I can’t think of a more important banner to carry than the banner of Jesus Christ! Once I accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord in 1984 I quickly realized how much my past actions were displeasing to Him.
Over the past three decades and more, I’ve continually strived to be more in His will. It’s been an ongoing process that’s been filled with God’s disciplining me again and again. I’m so glad He cares about me enough to take me out to the woodshed to help me to better see His will for my life. Through it all I believe I am developing true grit.
Recently, the Christian life seems to have become more challenging than ever to live. There are so many ideas floating around and everyone claims to have their own truth. Information runs rampant through the Internet and many take what they read and hear to be the gospel!
What they have done is bought into the hype of false hope found on the premise of someone’s ideals. Real hope only lies in one place and I’m so glad I was introduced to the person of Christ when I was 40 years old. Yes, I did my research and realized that the Bible was true and it provided me with all the answers I needed to life’s most difficult questions.
True grit requires the Truth! Without Truth it’s possible to easily fall for the lies of this world. The Truth accompanied with our personal grit enables us to persevere in accomplishing goals despite obstacles that will certainly cross our paths.
We can do this with passion, knowing that we are in God’s will and He will be pleased with our direction in life. And, one day we’ll certainly hear Him say to us, “Well done good and faithful servant.” That’s finishing well!
The Rooster Cogburns of this world are seldom understood. They are chided for not fitting into the ways of this world. They are seen as peculiar people, yet unique and focused on what they know they must do in life. The world does not have to understand who they are and why they do what they do.
And for those who follow Christ, all that matters is that we are in God’s perfect will for our lives. I trust that you might find His will for your life through prayer and reflection, and one day ultimately experience the joy that will certainly follow that day forward!
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.