My Race

I was mediating on a point Joyce Meyer was making on her internet/tv broadcast that showed this week. I can't really remember now all she was talking about but there was one image that stuck in my head. She got down on the floor and was laying on her back. She showed us that when we are on our backs and laying down, we can't go anywhere. No matter how fast you kick your legs like you are running, you don't go no where. She started talking about how there are so many Christian's living their life like that. Stuck laying down and not going anywhere.

I kept that image in my head and it came to me when I was tempted. I related giving into that temptation and how it would result in knocking me down and how I wouldn't be able to run my race. The last couple of days it did help me resist the temptation but today I decided to binge anyway. Tonight I was thinking again about that image and how it relates to my life now, the season I'm in, and what it feels like i'm going through. I then took that image and added how the rest of my story would relate to image. This is how I would discribe my race.

Here is this girl who ran most of her race (life) in the dark, following the wide path. She knew about the Light on narrow path, but choose to follow the wide path even though it was full of darkness. There came a time on University Lane when this girl became hopeless and depressed and heart broken because traveling along that dark path was slowing killing her. She cryed out in despair and was sick and tired of traveling in the dark and she started seeking the Light. She deligently and passionately sought out the Light and was led to the straight and narrow path. She loved that path. She felt alive, joyful and full of peace on that trail. She believed that path was beautiful and couldn't understand how other people who once deligently trailed on the lighted, narrow path now choose to follow the wide, ugly, dark, depressing trail. How could they do that and why she thought. A little Peter spoke inside her saying i'm not going to be one of those people who turns their back on Jesus and backs slides, choosing the worldly ways over His ways.

A little ways after she trailed along the narrow path, she saw signs of temptations. Because those signs were on the dark trails, the darkness distorted the images. She remembered her past trip and knew that those signs were not the way to go. But during her trip, she tryed to push forward without properly feeding herself spiritually and became weak. Those signs of temptation now inticed her. She became so weak that she choose to take a wrong turn which led to a long drawn out trip through the wilderness. There was several detours that led back to the narrow path and sometimes she would try to take those trails but she would lose her focus and would gradually chose to go back and continue forward in the wilderness.

She is currently stuck in an area in that wilderness where she is not moving. Seeking after her drug of choice (binging) has made her heart not function correctly and she has stumbled and fallen down. She can't see because she's in the dark and the lack of oxygen on that path is sufficating her and the pain just gets worse where she just wants to quit and ly down forever. She's trying to run her race (in her own power) but when you have fallen, you aren't moving. Even though she has her own race to run and she is not competing against others, just one day not moving puts her way behind in her race. It wastes times. It wastes her potential. It deminishes all that she can be in her life time.

Along her journey, the path that she is traveling along crosses many others who are also traveling along their path. But when she in trailing along the dark path, she is full of shame and guilt and hides herself. Because she hates herself and hides herself, her light doesn't shine and she isn't able to help others along their paths, both wide and narrow. She isn't strong enough to pick someone else off the dark path and carry them to the Lighted path and she's not able to love those traveling aroung her. Plus, others see that here is the girl who proclaims she is walking on the straight and narrow path with the Light but is stumbling and weak along the dark path. Why would they try and seek Light when it doesn't look like the Light is helping her in the darkness?

Having this image in mind helps me became more aware of just how valueable one day is and how important it is for make the right decisions to get well so i'm able to help others. Just think about any race. If you took a day off during the race, just think of the imact it would do. It would set you back tremendously. Just think if you took a couple days off. A year off.... Just think of all the missed opportunites to help others and to make a difference in this world.

All the times that I have gotten up and started traveling my race again was because I got my eyes off selfish self and focused them on God and what I could do for Him. Not what I could do for myself. This life isn't for me. It's for His glory. It's allowing Him to work through me to accomplish His will.


Exodus 15: 26 (NLT) - He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

Psalm 34:18 (The Message) - If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT) - This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT) - Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.