as i stood in the cold waters of Lake Hefner on September 23, 2012 shaking in my bike shorts and top, i looked at the daunting task ahead of me...i would take off at the start of the race with 300 other competitors and swim 750 meters...i will never forget how the water was cold on my body as i started to swim...after i rounded the second course marker i heard a voice screaming at me that i was off course and i had to regroup...i then set my sights on the last marker and swam as fast as i could...as i came out of the water and ran up the ramp, i got to the transition area to jump on my bike and go into the next section of the triathlon...i looked up and saw my wife, mother, father and youngest son already there cheering me on to get going on my bike...
i took off on a 14 mile ride and once i got into my stride i remember thinking will i ever make it to the finish line...when i completed the 14 mile ride, i came into the transition area to get ready to run the final portion of the triathlon...as i began to get my running shoes on for the 5k run ahead of me, once again, my wife, mother, father, and youngest son were already there to cheer me on to the next task...
after i made the turn at the 1.6 mile mark to head back to the finish line, hundreds of people lined the race boundaries banging cow bells and yelling encouraging words to the fat guy running his hardest to finish....their encouraging words made it easier to fight through the pain and agony my body was feeling...
as i saw the finish line in the distance, i wanted to walk so badly but the cheers of the crowd kept me going...my goal was to finish in under 2 hours and i had set a personal goal to finish in under 1:45...as i made the last turn i could see the countdown clock and it stated 1:41:21...i knew i could do it...i ran as hard as i could to the finish...i don't remember hearing anyone yelling but i can still hear my fan club cheering me on to the finish...once again, they were already there...my wife, my mother, my father, and my youngest son were already waiting for me at the finish line...as they put the medal around my neck, i knew the race had been won and i had finished...
as Christians, we are running races everyday...sometimes i think we forget Christ is at the finish line already there to give us what we need...our future is His past...our journey is his present...
several times in the scriptures, Jesus refers to the race we are running...i wonder if we would be better Christians if we realized he is waiting on us at the finish line...
our pastor spoke one week of the journey's of Paul...he talked about the maps in the back of our bibles that show us exactly where the journey's Paul started and finished as a reminder of our journey...he asked us a question....
where are your arrows going and where did the Lords journey's take you?
Acts 20 it tells us:
"however i consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."
1 Corinthians tells us:
"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."
2 Timothy tells us:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
you see, in the end, God is already at the finish line...if you are a born again Christian, you should be in a race...the race the was given to you by your Creator and Lord...
what race are you in? where are you headed? are you just standing still and not running? are you not sure of your direction?
- maybe you are trying to lead your family in a Godly manner
- maybe you are adopting a child
- maybe you are on a mission
- maybe you are staring a ministry
- maybe you want to start a quiet time
- maybe you need to pray with your family
- maybe you need to ask forgiveness
Challenge:
Write down the races you are running or races you want to run....if you don't know what races you are running, look back in the previous days and see what you have committed to do for God...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Challenge 2:
How are you going to commit to finishing?
What are you going to do to finish?
the amazing thing about Jesus is he is already there, waiting for us to cross the finish line...
your families are watching you run and they are already there waiting to see you finish what God has called you to do...they are watching you train or not train...they are watching you sacrifice or not sacrifice...they are watching you and using your example to set their goals and start their races too....
we are called as parents and leaders in our homes to lift up God in all we do and run the race as if it were running for the Lord...in everything we do...
then on that day, when our race is over, He will say,"well done thy good and faithful servant..."
Challenge 3:
if you have decided to race with God, let everyone know about it and let's run together...
i am challenging you to "like" this blog on Facebook so as a group we can begin to pray for one another in the races we are running....
God doesn't just get to the center of our homes by chance...He is put there by people willing to run a race with their families by putting Him first in everything they do.....
remember, Our God, Our Creator, Our Lord is already there.............
will you commit to the race he has called you to....
justinpresley1977@gmail.com
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