go the distance

            Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
           To piggyback on yesterdays post. Do you live your life as a series of sprints from one event to the next? Perhaps paycheck to paycheck, holiday to holiday or game day to game day? I think it is safe to say we have all thought, at least once, if I can just…. (insert occasion) I will be alright. As I have been going through physical therapy for my knee I have need of assistance, initially a walker, now a cane. I can get around the house quite well without the cane but if I want to go any distance I need the cane for support.
That phrase, ‘go the distance’ has been whirling around in my head. What is ‘the distance’? We are not to worry about tomorrow but to be present in the here and now. So the distance we deal with is the time we are awake each day, giving it our best to serve the Lord. That truly is all we need to focus on because God has already covered the distance. I believe that the cane is a good analogy of the support we have from God. He steadies us, shares the weight of our burdens and gives us balance, we only need to lean on him.
            Life is not a sprint but a marathon run. I have been told that people who run marathons vary their pace throughout the run. That is how we get through life as well, varying our pace for the needs at hand. The awesome thing is, no matter what our pace is; God is right there with us, ready to keep us steady.  What do you cling to when you need to get through something? If it isn’t God than you will be disappointed.
 Last week three lottery winners received an exorbitant amount of money, we may think they have it made for life. Although, it has been shown that the majority of lottery winners go through their money within a few years and are back to where they started from or even worse. Money is not the answer. Maybe you turn to your best friend, they can help, they are gifts from God too but sooner or later they will let you down and disappoint you.

Spend each day doing your best with what you have, giving gratitude to God, love those around you and stay alert for opportunities to share the truths of salvation through Jesus. Do this day in and day out and you will be able to go the distance with the Holy Spirit guiding you and giving you balance.

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  1. harleyJanuary 27, 2016 at 11:21 AM

    At Galatians 5:7 it says: "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? It is only the longer races of varying pace where runners sometimes cut one another off as they try to save ground by running the inside lane. Sometimes these cuts lead to stumbles and falls. At John 19:28 Jesus said: "I am thirsty". And at John 19:30 Jesus said: "It is finished." That is a powerful feeling at the end of a long race and the Apostle Paul echoed that very same sentiment at 2 Timothy 4:6-7 when he said: "For already I am being poured out like a drink offering and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. So like you eloquently stated, "It is not a sprint from one Bear game to the next", but a grueling marathon from the time of his conversion as a young rabid persecutor through the tough times as the one being persecuted and then finally to a triumphant death as an elderly martyr for Jesus Christ. (As a 1982 participant in Al's run (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), I can appreciate the feeling of just getting to the finish line of a 5 mile race.)

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