Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard someone say something like:

• “Wow, look at her. She arrived in style!”
• “I think I’ve finally arrived.”

This is weird because arriving implies stopping. When I’m driving to the store and I arrive at the store, I don’t keep on driving; I stop at the store. That’s the whole reason I left my house in the first place.

So when we talk about people arriving, do we really mean that they are supposed to stop and park? Correct me on this, but I think the only time we stop in life is when life stops. In other words: We’re dead!

We don’t really want to arrive, do we? We want to hit goals and then keep on going. We want to keep on “ing”ing. Here’s how I’m trying to leverage the power of ing:

• Keep on hoping in God (Psalm 71:14).
• Keep on obeying God’s laws (Psalm 119:44).
• Keep on coming to God with all my heart (Joel 2:12).
• Keep on asking, seeking, knocking in prayer (Matthew 7:7).
• Keep on believing in what Jesus can do for me (Mark 5:36).
• Keep on loving others (John 13:35).
• Keep on bearing good fruit (John 15:16).
• Keep on helping the poor (Galatians 2:10).
• Keep on growing in my knowledge of Jesus (Philippians 1:9).
• Keep on doing what is right (1 Peter 4:19).

I love the words of Abraham Lincoln, who knew the power of ing:

“I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.”

Don’t arrive. Don’t stop. Keep on “ing”ing the right things—God’s things—and see how God will bless your efforts. There is an incredible power in ing!