October 28–Perservere

It’s Monday...again!

They just keep coming, don’t they? I hope you had a good weekend. Mine started off awful—my team went down in defeat. It was a very sad day in the land of the Sooners. But alas, we move on! No matter how bad last week was, there’s another week, another game and another chance. 


That’s how it is in this battle we call life, too. We can fight like champions for a long time and look and feel as though we could take on anything that comes our way. And then, out of nowhere comes a Kansas State and knocks us to our knees. What happened? Where did we go wrong? The why and the where of our defeat probably do not matter nearly as much as how we respond. As warriors, we get up, brush ourselves off, and work harder in our training as we prepare for the next onslaught. According to Paul, that’s the process until we go home. 


“As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:6-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬


We want to remember that when we live for Christ, we will find ourselves in many different battles in many kinds of situations. Satan will come against us to discourage us, disqualify us and make us want to stop running our race. But we don't stop because we know why we fight. We realize that while we are here, we are in the battle zone and we arm ourselves with God's Word, boldly pray for God to equip us for the fight and we press into Him. 


Sometimes it’s hard to remember that the time we spend here is just a second compared to the eternity we will spend WITH HIM. If we can keep our eyes focused on the race of faith God has us in, if we focus on Him and not on those around us, we can run our race for His glory and fight our fight for His majesty. May we all come to the end of our lives saying, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Persevering to the end. All of the 401Ks and the stocks and the Trusts don’t hold a candle to the legacy that we fought a good fight and finished our course. 


Dear Jesus,

Help us to always remember that this world is not our home. Help us to lean into You when we find ourselves in battles....help us fight the good fight and remember that we are never alone in them. Teach us to run in the race where you are place us. Keep us focused on you and not the world around us. Thank you for placing those in our lives to encourage us and be Your hands and feet when we are hurting and discouraged. And help us to remember to be that for someone else when we are standing again. We worship you and we praise you this day. We thank you for your great greave that sustains us and your amazing love that protects us. What an amazing God you are! Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam

  

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