November 5-Press Toward the Mark 

Happy Monday and I hope you’ve had a good weekend. I watched a little football on Saturday and my team barely won. One of my OU friends called it an “ugly win” to which I said “Yes, but it was a win!” Last night as I was laughing about that, it dawned on me that must be how God sees me when I have struggles. I can almost hear Him say “Oh Pam, that was ugly, but it’s a win!” I don’t always get through the day as perfectly as I should or without making mistakes but I do my best to keep looking at the whole season. Sometimes I’m like my team was Saturday night— behind on the scoreboard, making mistakes left and right and losing yards on about half the downs. But my crowd of witnesses is still there. And my God who is the God of mercy and grace continues to teach me, to coach me and help me learn and grow through these lessons of life. When I figure out how to make corrections and adjustments, it’s that end zone in sight that helps me run.


Sometimes being a follower of Christ is difficult. Other people don’t understand and sometimes even Christians think you take it all too seriously or too literally. We are a peculiar people. We believe in what we can’t see and we are waiting for a day whose date is unknown. On the outside looking in, we are strange and maybe even look nieve to believe in life after death and an eternal place to live. 


“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Even though we may be getting older, though the race we running is not always “pretty,” Paul’s tells us not to give up because we are not fixed on the temporary of this world, but the permanent of the one to come. So the “light and momentary” problems we deal with here that seem to overwhelm us and threaten to take us over, are nothing compared with what we get in the long run. It’s a matter of mentally trying to step back and see the big picture. We used to call that the 10,000 foot view—what does it look like if you are 10,000 foot up looking down? Our God has a great perspective—He sees this life in light of not just the next few years, but in full view of eternity.


Dear Jesus, thank you for life and thank you for the promise of heaven. Help us Lord not to lose heart and to see the big picture—to see not just today but our lives in light of where we intend to finish. You have conquered death and and the grave and you promise to us that very same win! we want to set our sights on things above and not on our small problems here. We love you and worship you for you are the soon and coming King. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear friend,

Pam

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