This year, my friends have astounded and amazed me. Between the bunch, they did numerous short road races and trail races, that culminated in completing the Comrades (90km road race) the Maxi Race (grueling trail race) The Iron Man (swim, run, cycle), and right at the end of the year, the Munga (1127km dirt road race, unsupported)
Every competitor has come back with the most amazing stories of pain and hope, fear and perseverance, and above all, God’s voice.
I stand amazed at their commitment and character. It’s an example to follow. Proverbs 24:16 speaks about that perseverance… you may stumble seven times but because of who you are, you will rise up eight times, and keep going.
There are, of course, two sides to this, the one is perseverance and the other is commitment. And in between grows a Love and a passion.
The religious leaders asked Jesus: what is the greatest commandment?
“You are to love the Lord Yahweh, your God, with a passionate heart, from the depths of your soul, with your every thought, and with all your strength. This is the great and supreme commandment.”
(Mark 12:30 TPT)
Read that again…
The love we have for God… is just different. John 4 says we draw near to God if we worship Him in truth. (Not lip service)
What does it take to finish a race…? Real commitment and focus. You will not get there by getting that gym card. You need to spend the time, focussed.
But I know that nothing I can do will get me into heaven… that is true. And I do not want anyone to think that abs and great legs will get you there… but think of the love of your life.
While you were courting, was there anything you wouldn’t do for that girl or guy? Was any distance too far to travel? Any piano too heavy to move? Any dish too salty or raw not to eat with the greatest compliments?
Think about David. When he moved the Ark of the Covenant in 2nd Samuel, he was like a high school student around Valentine’s Day. The men carrying the Ark would take 6 steps… SIX! Then David would stop, slaughter an ox and a fattened calf and worship God.
“Whenever those bearing the chest advanced six steps, David sacrificed an ox and a fatling calf.”
(2 Samuel 6:13 CEB)
Every six steps, David would worship. Trumpets would lead them, and “… danced with all his strength before the LORD.”
All the way to Jerusalem.
David’s focus was 100% on God. And the beautiful thing? The most amazing thing? He literally dragged the nation with him into worship, until they too were singing and dancing before the Lord. His focus became their focus.
The flipside is also true of our hero, king David. When he became complacent, so did his nation. And I experience it very quickly. After a day of focusing my energy on presidential crimes, power outages, and business problems, coming home to worship is extremely difficult… because my focus has shifted from my beloved to the problems of the world. From the solution to the problem.
Take a minute or three and think: How Do I worship? How do I spend my time? Where is my focus? How do I spend my free time. Do I stop at the donut shop on my way to gym and end up deciding to rather go to gym, tomorrow?
