Finish Strong
In high school I ran track. I wasn’t great but I wasn’t bad.
The problem that I had was that I never learned how to properly run any race. I
would start off too slow or too fast which always made it difficult to finish
the race. I didn’t learn how to pace myself to run a good race. My finish
always struggled because my start was bad. Now, I just run for fun…only
competing against myself. I set my own rules, but no matter what, I always
finish strong.
2 Timothy 2:5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete
does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules
(NIV).
My lack of skill on the track was a direct translation of
how my life played out before I surrendered to God. I was living life with no
regard for the rules and it always affected the way I finished a phase of my
life. I paid no attention to how I was supposed to handle myself or certain
situations. I was frivolous with my money and barely had anything to pay my
bills with. It wasn’t that I didn’t make enough, it was only because I didn’t play
by the rules. I gave my body away to men I wasn’t married to because I chose
not to follow the rules. My life was influenced by people and things that meant
me no good, because I didn’t follow the rules.
Most of the times I wouldn’t complete what I started, but if
I did I had to drag myself across the finish line.
There was no victor’s crown, only war wounds.
I would dive in head
first without finding out the rules of the game. There were times that I
started off too slow and missed out on what God had for me. Or I would run ahead of God and be left with no direction because He was absent from my plans. No matter what the
case, I very rarely followed God’s rules. I couldn’t get what He had for me
because I didn’t do it His way.
1 John 5:3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his
commands. And his commands are not burdensome (NIV)
It’s not that doing things according to God’s will is hard.
Truthfully, we cause ourselves more heartache by playing to the beat of our own
drum. God’s commands are not burdensome. He wants us to run the race and finish
with the victory.
I had to learn that breaking the rules only left me with
little energy to run the race. I don’t want a consolation prize, I want to
WIN. I left my losing mentality right next to my 3rd place medals.
I train right and I follow God’s rules.
It’s never too late to finish strong. The first of the year
brings New Year’s Resolutions that you may or may not keep, promises that were
made based on the emotions of the date on the calendar. This is the last week
of the 1st month of 2013: play by the rules, finish strong and turn your
life around.
With All My Love,
Mrs. Truscott
This was so on target!!! I think sometimes, for me anyway, I start off so strong because I'm so excited but my fire dies when obstacles come or I get complacent! Finish strong! This article reminds me of the song the victor by youthful praise! Thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteOur desire to please God has to consistently be renewed because of our flesh. Keep being obedient and that flame won't go out
DeleteThis post is awesome! The part that spoke to me the most is when you stated that doing things God's way is not hard. The minute that I accepted this and realized that God truly loves me and only wants the best for me is the minute that I began to appreciate His Word and the commands that He has given me to follow. God really does only want the best for us, and the minute that we see that He isn't trying to restrict us but to liberate us and help us to actually start living is the moment that we start living the life that we were created to live...in the manner that God designed us to live it. Great insight :)
ReplyDeleteLearning that His way trumps ours is sometimes the hardest thing to understand. It's also the most life-changing; if we can get that, we can get Him
Delete