ENDURANCE. THE RACE WITH DETERMINATION

I was late for my bus. I hurriedly ran out of work to the bus stop after saying my goodbyes to everyone at work.I felt the cold rush past my face and my stomach twisting like i had just had some water before my race to the bus stop. I could hardly breathe, so i stopped for a minute to catch my breathe and when i looked up I saw my bus pull up to the bus stop. "I'm almost there." I thought to myself as i made eye contact with the bus driver who waited till i ran to the bus. "Sorry, I just needed to catch my breath." I remember saying. "Well, there is always the next bus." the bus driver said. For some reason those words stuck with me.  He was basically saying if i wasn't willing the chase the first choice down  because of my discomfort , I can wait for the second choice in my comfort.I remember thinking as I sat down how similar that race to the bus was to the race to eternal life. It was painful, exhausting and in that moment it felt too much and the second option seemed easier but when i chose to push through, it felt so rewarding. I know there's been prompts i have had from the Holy Spirit that I knew were good and right but because it placed me in a position of discomfort, I wasn't willing to choose it. 

 I was reading some articles on how to begin running and it's interesting how the first step was to embrace walking. I feel like as believers we have idolized the anointing or our "purpose in life" that we want to get the anointing but we are not willing to fall in love with the process because honestly, it's hard and it takes a while. It comes with a level of consistency and discipline that sometimes we are not willing to put in but this is the reality of starting something.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 says "But there are some things that you cannot be sure of. You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops."

I want to highlight how this says if you wait for the perfect weather, you will never plant seeds. When starting my business, I felt like I needed to have the all the equipment and packaging like the bigger brands and because I did not have all of that I did not feel equipped to start. I've heard of how some christians feel like they need to get clean on their own before coming to Jesus when the work was already finished on the cross. We have this idea that we can only start when WE get things right or get all the fancy equipment  and we put things off but to embrace walking, to fall in love with the process, you need to start the process. So pursue Jesus, your yes needs to be backed up by action.

See our goal as the church is to hear "well done my good and faithful servant" but we lose focus and pay attention to something that is what all christians are called to do; "Proclaiming the message."

 Matthew 28:19 says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

It does not talk of when you are a baby christian or you are mature in the faith. All it says it to make disciples, baptize them and teach them and this can be just through having a conversation with a person and professing your faith. We have put too much pressure on ourselves and allowed compromise to set in because of our discomfort but we grow in the valleys not the hilltops.

The second point the article mentioned, is to know you are a runner from the day you start. In the same way, we as disciples,  need to remember that the day we surrender our lives to Jesus is the day we are daughters and sons of the most High. We need to realise that us stumbling does not change who we are but sometimes it can deceive us and open the door to shame when that was never your portion at all. Even if you read your Bible today and don't tomorrow or if you fall back into sin, it doesn't change whose children we are.

In life, we need to be careful how much noise that we give access to ourselves and make sure the Lord's voice is loudest in our life because that's the only way we can endure. Making sure we lean on the best coach, the Holy Spirit to help guide and counsel us in this race because He is the only way we will get to the end of this.So lets keep running this race and so that when we get on that bus we hear "well done my good and faithful servant."

Reflection: Think over your life to filter through the voices you allow to speak over  your life and see if it is the Holy Spirit's voice is loudest or if the other voices are louder.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you so much because you knew me and loved me before I knew you. Help me quiet down the voices in my life that are not of you such that I can properly receive guidance on how you require me to operate and move in this new life i have been given. Order my steps and have your way in my life so i may not stray from the path you have chosen me to walk in. Help me fall in love with the process even if it feels hard and lean on your truth and promises such that I can get to the end of this road and hear you tell me well done. I love you Jesus. Thank you