Not that I have
already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold
of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of
it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-17
This morning I intended to get up at 6:30 am so I could
run. But 6:30 am came and went and I was
still in bed, followed by 7:00 am. Finally at 7:30 am I managed to pull myself
out of bed; I felt tired, discouraged, and the last thing that I wanted to do
was walk out my front door and run. As
I sat in my chair putting on my socks and running shoes I contemplated several
times just staying home and not running today.
After all, let me remind you “I hate to run” and once again my running
partner didn’t show up. So against every
ounce of my physical body (around 3520 oz. if I calculate right) I walked out
the door, pushed through the dread, the lack of motivation, and pressed
on.
I would like to tell you that what happened next was that I
ran 3 or 4 miles at a great pace, but my mom taught me lying is bad. I jogged along and made it about .6 (6/10ths)
of a mile before I had to slow down to a walk and catch my breath, after a few
minutes I turned around and ran the .6 mile back home. I got home out of breath, and covered in
sweat! But I had done it; I had overcome another day of running and am one more
step toward my goal of being a healthier and better fit example to my children
and my youth.
So what does all this running mumbo jumbo have to do with
anything? Well I continue to see week
after week people who have the ability to overcome obstacles and do great
things for God via their local Church, missions, etc. Yet they won’t make the commitment to step
out of their comfort zone or their own agendas.
They are just too busy and too comfortable to make obedience and service
to God and others a priority.
I can’t run far, or fast, or even well, but I am
running. I’m not a great teacher, great
preacher, or great witness, but I think I am getting better as I continue to do
those things. It doesn’t matter whether
you are 8 or 80, there is something that you can do to press on and become
closer to God. Today will you step out
the door that God has placed in front of you, press on, suffer through and
become victorious? Let me tell you
again, “I hate to run, but I love the way running makes me feel!”
Walk before you run, run before you sprint; no matter the
pace, no matter the distance, step out the door and keep moving forward!
“It’s the job that’s never started that takes the longest to
finish!” J. R. R. Tolkien
