There Ain’t No Easy Way Out

It was a pretty normal morning. My alarm went off at 5:30 am and I pleaded with Mark to hit snooze so I could catch 9 more minutes.

They passed quickly as always and I never did fall completely back to sleep, so with the second beep of the alarm I popped out of bed. After putting on my running gear, I went down to the basement to face my daily tormentor – the treadmill.

After adjusting my weight, speed, and time I planned to run, I put in the earbuds to my iPhone so I could listen to some motivating music. I selected Tom Petty’s greatest hits playlist, and hit the up arrow to increase my speed. The first song that played was “I Won’t Back Down.” I was immediately energized by the positive message, thinking to myself, “yah, I can dominate this run!”

That is when I heard the line that transformed my hum drum daily run into a special moment with God.

“There ain’t no easy way out.”

I’ve heard this song a thousand times, but today, that simple line meant so much more. It was as if a painfully obvious truth was right in front of me all along and I just never took the time to really listen.

“There ain’t no easy way out.”

The past year has brought about a realization that I wanted (needed) a more active relationship with God. I’ve always been an all or nothing kind of person, and I’ve been struggling to achieve a balance between my faith and “real life.” Looking back now, I see how silly that was.

I wanted to play the part God set out before me, but I struggled to find the script. I prayed a lot. I listened. I read the Bible. But all the while I still wanted to be in control. I fought a complete surrender because I was afraid it would be painful, of what other people would think. I was afraid it would require courage I just couldn’t muster. When I heard that line, God spoke to my heart. I knew at that moment He wanted me to know that things could be hard now or they could be hard later, but there is no easy way out. Sooner or later, everyone will accept their place within God’s plan. It’s just a matter of when and whether or not it will be too late.