Monday Motivation: The Marathons of Life

With the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Marathon coming up, I admire those I know who are participating in one of the events. For various reasons, running hasn’t been something I’ve taken on for a long time. I’m just a boring walker. (Not of The Walking Dead zombie variety!)

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I had been ignoring the weight gain of the last couple of years that is due to hormonal changes and stress, so I am now faced with the reality of changing some of my eating habits-- more vegetables for one, less on-demand chocolate for another. I’m also working on increasing my exercise, whether walking through the neighborhood, getting on the treadmill, popping a walking DVD into the player, or working out with weights.

Gone are the days in which I could work this hard and lose five pounds in a week. That’s been my problem lately, I want to give up too soon. I am trying to get it into my head and heart that lifelong fitness is a marathon, not a sprint.

Many other things are also like this in other areas of life. Broken relationships take time, love and patience to repair. Building a good marriage takes perseverance. Overcoming bad habits takes a relentless commitment to change. Writing a three or four hundred page novel doesn’t happen in a day. It can take months or years, but you have to take the first step by writing the first word, first paragraph, first page--and repeat.

Those preparing for the marathon this weekend didn’t start last week. They’ve been working at it for a long time. What might have seemed impossible at one time became doable, because they took the first step and kept moving forward.

What marathons are you facing in life today? Ask the Lord to guide you in your first steps to move in the direction He wants you to go.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

(Hebrews 12:1-3)

Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to trust You today. Guide me to take steps and move forward in the direction you want me to go. Help me to persevere and not give up as I take one step, one day, one moment at a time. Thank you that Your mercies are new every day!

Please leave a comment--share something you are learning about walking in faith in the longterm. We love your comments!

Saturday Spiritual Uplift - Be the Sheep

Be the Sheep

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. (Psalm 23:1-2, NLT)

Psalm 23 gives us such a lovely pastoral scene. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who takes care of His children as though they are sheep. The sheep’s instincts are to flock together, especially toward the center of the herd to stay safe. Out alone, by itself, the sheep doesn’t have much defense against preying animals.

I can’t imagine a safer place to be than by the Good Shepherd where He leads. Jesus desires to lead His children into a peaceful place in the meadow. As a sheep, wouldn’t it be great to nibble on the cool green grass and rest there instead of pushing our way to the center of the flock for protection? We can trust Him to watch over us. He desires to have His sheep be refreshed in peaceful waters, not dangerous rapids. How often do I want to run ahead and deal with things on my own, not considering that He has a better way for me?

If I want the Good Shepherd to lead me, I need to follow Him. I must trust and rest in Him. That’s where I can feed on His Word and drink in His living presence. Some days I feel like I’m growing closer than others. I am thankful Jesus will never leave me or forsake me, even when I’m not the smartest sheep in the bunch!

Father, lead me closer to You through your Son. Without You I am nothing. Thank you for your unfailing love and mercies every day. Help me to trust in your presence and guidance one day at a time. 

Tweet this: Jesus, the Good Shepherd, cares for His own.

Saturday Spiritual Uplift

Where Were You, Lord?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (Heb. 11:1, NLT)

As I was driving to an appointment (and as usual hadn’t left myself enough extra time), I missed my turn. I thought the sign was telling me that the turn was for 12 Mile Road, but that I was still on M-5 North. Unfortunately, the sign was showing me that I needed to turn off of I-96 at that point to take M-5 northward. Instead of being at the medical facility in West Bloomfield, I ended up in Northville, basically in the opposite direction. Once I took the turn around and was eventually back on the right road, I was able to find office building. I was quite late and fully prepared to reschedule and head home, but they were gracious enough to still accommodate me. 

Going home, I hit rush hour traffic and took quite awhile to return. I suppose the whole thing only took me an extra half hour, but the anxiety and stress made my little trip seem worse. I returned safely home and I know the Lord was with me the whole time. He told His disciples He would go with them to the ends of the earth! But He allowed me that little detour. Things didn’t go perfectly even though He was there. If anything, it was simply a consequence of my poor planning.

Every day, believers are going through much more difficult detours in life. Unexpected serious illness takes hold, marriages fail, jobs are lost, wayward children leave families behind and terrible accidents happen. These are the things that test our faith.

When Lazarus had died, his sister, Martha, said to Jesus when he arrived on the scene, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” How honest Martha was with Jesus! And if I’m honest there are many times that I am asking that question. For example, when my husband fell off the roof 15 years ago I wondered why He allowed that to happen. After each of my four miscarriages I wondered why He allowed each baby to die in the womb when each of them were so loved and wanted.

When I ask why, I’m really asking the Lord where He was when that happened, because if He’d been doing what I wanted, those bad things wouldn’t have happened. But get this, it’s what I wanted. I wasn’t asking what He wanted to do in my life through those things at first. That took a while longer.

A little later, when Jesus asked for the stone to be removed from Lazarus’ grave, Martha complained that since her brother had been buried four days before, it would smell pretty awful. Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” Jesus called Lazarus forth from the tomb and Martha had her happy ending regarding Lazarus, right then and there.

For us it isn’t always so immediate. We need to trust even when we don’t have the instant results we want and believe that the Lord is here working on the results He wants to see in our lives. As we come to know Him better and center on His presence more fully, we’ll begin to want what He wants in our lives, which is the best for us.

Father, please teach us to desire You and Your will most of all, to know You are working out your perfect plan, despite how it may look to us today. Please give us the gift of faith that we might trust You more fully. Amen.

Saturday Spiritual Uplift - Unburdened

Unburdened

When it comes to my back, I am a sort of a wimp. I’ve experienced enough muscle spasms and been to enough physical therapy sessions to persuade me to be more cautious. My left leg is ¾” shorter than my right and tends to throw things out of balance. I am careful with what and about how I lift.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself without my handy husband there to help lift a 35 lb. container of the concentrated weight of kitty litter. On that gray, chilly day in the pet supply store parking lot, I braced my one foot against the bottom of the cart and the back of my leg against the bumper of my Chevy Venture. I grasped the handle of the bucket and prayed that I wouldn’t pull my muscles any more than I had, when I’d hurt them the day before. I looked up and saw a young man coming out of the store. He glanced my way and I averted my eyes, so that he wouldn’t think I was looking for help. Actually, I was thinking that I hoped he didn’t think I looked like the pathetic weakling I am.

Before I managed to muster the strength I needed, the dark-haired guy was standing in front of me. “Can I help you with that?” I could barely stutter out a question of whether he truly minded, by the time he hoisted the container into the back of my minivan. And as I went to pick up the second one, he wanted to assist me with it as well. I thanked him profusely. Another gentleman asked if he could take my empty basket, so I didn’t even need to return it to the sidewalk. I climbed into the driver’s seat of my car, relieved the Lord had provided me with help, when I least expected. I breathed a prayer of thanks.

A stranger, who didn’t know anything of my thoughts, worries or limitations had offered to take the problem of lifting the kitty litter into my car, into his hands. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us: Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (NLT) My Heavenly Father, who created me and knows me intimately, longs for me to unburden myself, to give Him the fears on my heart, the worries I hold onto for loved ones. The worry lines embedded in my forehead attest to the fact that I don’t leave it with Him enough.

Yet, my worrying cannot change a thing. Praying and leaving these things is letting the Lord do the heavy work. He is always near my side, offering to help. He asks that I obey Him and take Him up on His generous offer one day at a time.

Psalm 33:20-21(NLT)

We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

Matthew 6:34(NLT)

. . . don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.