Today’s Devotion
Topic: Determined To Run The Race Ahead! (Part 2)
Text: Hebrews 12: 1b
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Amen
Yesterday, we tried to establish a few reasons why our Christian journey can be said to be a race. Now that we understand that, the next thing is to try and understand what we must do, or what is expected of us.
To that, Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 9: 24 that “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.” Then he says in verse 25 that “everyone who competes in the games goes into STRICT TRAINING (EMPHASIS). They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” He then goes personal by saying in verses 26 and 27 that, “therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it a slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
This means that we must run the race with PASSION, PURPOSE AND DISCIPLINE.
RUNNING WITH PASSION:
In 1 CORINTHIANS 9: 24, PAUL IS NOT NECESSARILY GIVING US AN ADVICE; HE IS ISSUING A DIVINE COMMAND — “There are many runners in a race. Only one guy wins. You be that guy! Run the Christian life like one who is determined to win.”
You may ask, “how does a runner run in such a way that he may win?” The answer is simple — He is driven by both passion for the sport and passion for the prize! He directs all of his concentration, focus, energy, and efforts towards this goal. He does not walk, or skip towards the finish line. He doesn’t give it a half-hearted attempt. He’s determined to give this race everything he has. Let’s call it a hot zeal!
This is the way God has commanded us to live the Christian life! A Christian can be excused if he doesn’t have great physical strength and looks, but not if he does not have zeal.
Does this describe the way you approach your Christian life — The way you approach communing with God? The way you approach obeying His commands? The way you approach serving the Church? The way you approach winning the lost? The way you approach using your gifts? The way you approach loving the brethren?
Meditate on the insights in the Scriptures presented below and be stirred up to walk closely with God and do exploits for Him.
i. Eccl. 9: 10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”
ii. Luke 13: 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door.”
iii. John 6: 27 “Work for the food which endures to eternal life.”
iv. 1 Cor.15: 58 “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
v. Gal. 6: 9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
vi. Eph. 5: 16 “Make the most of your time.”
vii. Phil. 2:12 “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”
viii. Heb. 6: 11 “show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end.”
ix. 1 Pet. 1: 22 “fervently love one another from the heart.”
This is simply the practical outworking of “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Beloved, begin to pray. May God deliver us from lukewarmness, apathy, and half-heartedness as we run this race!
Tomorrow, we will look at how to run with a PURPOSE.
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