Crossing the Finish Line and Going for the Gold!

I can remember once in my life that I actually competed in a walk-a-thon requiring the physical activity of walking. What you have to understand about me is, I am not one for marathons, races or any competitions of any sort if I have to get all sweaty and exude physical strength. That has just never been my thing. I don't like working out even if it is for my own good because that means that I would have to condition my body and exert muscle strength. Well......I just don't like that! Last year, I set out to start exercising and changing my eating habits in order to create a healthier me. It started out rather slow and was very challenging in the beginning because I don't like that sort of thing. But I was committed to a healthier me. A friend and I began a walking regime around my apartment complex in the wee hours of the morning. Now, she is not a morning person......so that in an of itself was a challenge! But that's another story! Praise God for her! There would be days when it would be raining and we could not walk so we began to to Tae-Bo in my living room in lieu of walking. Have you ever worked out to one of Billy Blanks videos? Billy is tough and his workouts are very rigorous so until you get used to it.....Billy will kick your butt! There were mornings when we would be mumbling under our breath as we worked out with Billy or either we both would end up passed out in the floor. But we got used to it and it became somewhat easier and we began to look forward to the workouts...well....I....began to workout. I'm going to keep praying for my sister! Amen! But then something happened with my knee and I had to undergo a second knee surgery and I had to go through physical therapy and rehabilitation to strengthen and get my knee back in working order. After all of that was done, I had lost sight of a healthier me and I could not seem to get back into my workout routine. I tried a few times but I was not fully focused on the end results. You see I had lost my drive and I had lost sight of my personal goal. I had veered from my lane in the race to a healthier me. And that's how our personal lives are. We get out of the gate to a strong start but then we get distracted by something on the sidelines and we lose sight of the finish line. We have all gotten off to a strong start with full speed and determination of winning our race but somewhere along the way, we lose steam and began to fall behind the in the race. You see, it is not how strong we get out of the gate, it's how strong we finish the race. What this means, is we all set our sights high and are conditioned for a well run race, but in our race, we will come up against obstacles that were not part of our planned course. And......we just don't know what to do or how to handle the obstacles that have been placed in the lane that we were assigned. You see, those obstacles can be seem to be quite high...too high for us to jump over or either they appear to be too wide....to wide for us to go around. And because we have not been conditioned to run on an obstacle course, we fear that we will stumble and fall. I am here to tell you that it is OK to stumble and fall because God will be there to pick you up and dust you off and get you back in the race in the right lane! He has conditioned us to run a strong race and more importantly given us all the training that we need to finish strong and cross the finish line. But no need to stop there with only crossing the finish line, why not set your sight on the gold that God has waiting for you once you cross that finish line. Now somebody ought to stand on their feet right now giving God the Glory because that is Good News! In spite of the many turmoils of life, God is with us throughout the entire race! Praise God! One thing you should take away here if you get nothing else out of this message is this. It is not how fast you get out of the gate, but how consistent you are in your running and that you finish strong with your eyes focused on the gold. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes Chapter 7:8 "The end of the matter is better than its beginning and patience is better than pride." What am I saying here? Most of us are running a race to get a reward that is tangible and one that we can brag and boast about. But the real prize is a seat in the kingdom of God, being able to sit at His welcome table feasting on milk and honey and walking the streets paved with gold. You see, we get so bogged down with what is going on in our lives with obstacle after obstacle, we veer from our lane. If you have ever competed in any type of race, you know that the rule is to stay in your lane, right? We were never promised an easy race but He has assigned our own personal lane and developed it just for us. therefore, he has conditioned us for what He has planned for us. Every person that has ever competed in a race or marathon has to undergo weeks, months, even years of training. We have been given the Word of God as our training manual and if we follow its instruction, we can run our race. We may be slow and steady. We may even quaver along the way. And we may even cross lanes sometimes. Life sometimes takes us off the beaten path luring us into other lanes. But that's OK because we have all crossed lanes before. The key is to recognize from the training that has been etched in your heart through the Word of God and move back into your lane. Stay focused on your race. Finish your race strong. Keep in mind as you run your race, there are markers along the course that tell you where you are in your race and if you need to exert more speed or if you need to pull back. Sometimes we are running a little too fast and we need to slow it down. Sometimes we are running too slow and need to pick up the pace. But at any point in time when the race is difficult, always go back to your training, which is the Word of God, watch your markers along the way and pray for understanding. I encourage you all to day to run. Keep running. Gauge your pace and run steady. Finish strong. The gold is waiting! Be blessed my sisters and brothers!