Running Your Race

"...let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."

Hebrews 12:1-2

Over the past couple of months, I have been training to run a 1/2 marathon (13.5 miles). And the training itself has been quite the journey. There have been times I wanted to give up, but as I endured through the pain, and reached my goals, I found great accomplishment and physical growth and strength. This training has reminded me a lot of my relationship with the Lord. There are times when life just gets hard, and I get selfish, and I don't feel like honoring the Lord with my actions. And if I give in to my selfishness, I feel terrible afterwards...but if I endure, and calm my pride, and obey the Lord with my thoughts, attitudes and actions, I see growth both spiritually and relationally. 

The Bible urges us to run our race with perseverance and to throw off the sin that so easily trips us up, and to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. I just love that imagery. I can just see a runner, keeping her eyes on the finish line, running with all her strength, even as the course gets rough and people try to pull her down...she keeps running towards that finish. 

That is how our walk with the Lord should be. Focused and determined to reach the finish line, to meet Jesus face to face, and to hear Him say "Well done". 

Reality Check

"God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him"

-John Piper-

This morning I watched a video on John Piper's Desiring God blog about a young couple who chose to get married, despite the fact that one of them was severely mentally disabled due to a car accident. Their names are Ian and Larissa. The couple began dating in college and had big plans for a wonderful life spent together. They planned on being married in the near future. But before a ring was bought, Ian was in a nearly fatal car accident, throwing the couple into a life they had never imagined. My heart ached for them as I watched their video online. As the tears rolled down my cheek, I felt so stupid and so selfish for placing all the demands on my own husband to live up to what "I need".  Today's culture (in and outside of the church) has placed so much value on personal happiness; as if it is all that matters. But when you're in a marriage, the truth is, your own personal happiness has much less value than popular culture would have you believe. Marriage is not all about the wife's happiness nor is it all about the husband's. Really, a God-honoring marriage is not about the couple at all. It is about God. It is to bring Him glory and to be the picture of His love to the world. This story this morning was just such a wonderful reminder that my satisfaction needs to be found in Christ. Not in my marriage. And it has challenged me to take a closer look at my relationship with my husband. Do we seek to honor Christ by loving and serving each other? Or are we primarily focused on our own happiness. Reality Check.

In a post written by Larissa about why they chose to be married, she says, "...it was simple. We love each other. And we love God. And we believe that He is sovereign and loving and in control of all things....I still don't think Ian would have ever left me if the roles had been reversed. And walking away from my best friend was never truly an option." 
What an amazing testimony!

Watch their video here: Ian & Larissa