Think of people you know who have lived a full, abundant life. What do they tell you? What wisdom do you glean? Typically they talk about the hard times, the difficulties they faced and how they overcame them. You hear how they resolved to do something regardless of the opposition, and then did it. You hear about commitment and perseverance.

In anything worth doing, there is a necessary downside. In order to experience ultimate satisfaction, you must embrace the hard things. You must commit. The alternative is to avoid pain and shirk responsibility. But if you do that, you will be costing yourself the fruit that only comes with showing up and sticking around. The ease is hardly worth the sacrifice.

Struggle shapes our character. And character dictates what we will become. Commitment is a necessary part of becoming all that God has intended. For the average person, such a challenge sounds daunting - scary, even. What can we do? We must risk.