Are you one of those who's been pumped with the "WIN IN 2010" slogan? Well, what if you heard "THAT'S A WRAP!" today? Are you ready to hear those words?
January is coming to a close. You came into 2010 with goals and resolutions…some of those made in drunken stupors on New Year’s Eve. Hopefully, you are now sober and of sound mind. Hopefully, you started 2010 on the right track. How do you know if you’re on the right track? Multi-tasking is a useful skill, but it becomes useless if you are off track. Let's see how you're doing, shall we?
ARE YOU RUNNING? – If you are frozen, you can’t run. If you are burdened, you can’t run. You can’t let fear and baggage keep you from running. You must let go of all those things, people and circumstances that entangle you. You can’t keep blaming others for delay. You must let go of harmful things and people. Submit all to God, so that you can run in truth and freedom. Every part of your race will require resistance and strength. Stop consenting to hindrance and move forward.
You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? – Galatians 5:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. – Ephesians 6:11
WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING? – Some people have taken off with great speed, determination and strength, but they have a huge problem. They are not running THEIR race. You’re not running YOUR race if you’re on the wrong track (you end up at the wrong destination and miss all the designated stops) and you’re not running YOUR race if you’re running in the opposite direction. If you’re on the right track, but are running backwards, you have a “Jonah” problem and trouble is certain. You are not on the right track if you are not pursuing YOUR assignment for YOUR life’s journey. There will be trials and problems along the way, but, if you run the path that God has set before you, you can’t go wrong.
But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. – Acts 20:24
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. – Romans 5:3
I will eagerly pursue your commandments because you continue to increase my understanding. – Psalm 119:32
HOW ARE YOU RUNNING? – Anyone who’s jogged, especially early in the morning when the air is clean and crisp, knows that feeling you get…almost as if you’re about to take flight. It’s a good feeling. In the race of life, you must always be ready to take flight. Your attitude matters. The way you run matters! Run strong, run purposefully, run patiently, run faithfully, and run as if your life depends on it, because it does. Complacency has no place in your race. Gawking at other runners has no place in your race. Stopping to view train wrecks has no place in your race. Follow every marker on your track and stop to re-fuel and replenish, but DO NOT get off track. All the help you need to finish your race is already provided by God.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. – 1 Corinthians 9:24
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. – Hebrews 12:1
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7
So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. – 1 Corinthians 9:26
With you I can attack a line of soldiers. With my God I can break through barricades. – Psalm 18:29
You don’t have to be perfect, you just need to get up, get on the right track and start running in the right direction.
If you understand nothing else, you MUST GET THIS: When you run YOUR race, you are not running TO WIN. Don’t let man pump you up about the “win” to the point that you forget the prize. Many runners win, and are then disqualified because they did not run well. You are running TO OBTAIN WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN WON for those who faithfully complete their course!
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. – Philippians 3:12
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31
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