"Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and heart may fail, but God is strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." ~ Psalm 73:25-28
I am officially half-way done with the fall semester! (Yay!) My life has been so crazy - and let's just say that stress levels have literally made their way OFF the scale. And as most of you know, I'm not one to deal with stress very easily...
Earlier in September, my best friend and I participated in a pro-life 5K race and had been training for it prior to the event. During my frequent runs, I found that they were an extremely helpful remedy to my stress issues. My humongous list of things to do would suddenly become irrelevant, and it was a wonderful thing! It was also during my runs that I was able to have the best conversations with the Lord!
He began to lay on my heart the question of WHY I was "running my race." I then began to ponder what purpose my life currently had, and whether or not I was bearing fruit that displayed it. I quickly realized the many passions that had taken over my life - school, events, future plans that I had been "day dreaming" about. Instantaneously, I was constantly letting earthly treasure sit on the throne of my heart.
It was during my quiet time a few weeks later that I read Psalm 73. What hit me the hardest was the verse, "...and earth has nothing I desire besides you."
The world offers numerous things that look so appealing to us. But God calls us to store up our treasures in Heaven, and not on earth. We are called to run this race in such a way as to win the prize. What prize are you seeking? This race can be extremely tiring, and it would be a complete waste if we did not have our eyes fixed on the right prize -- the only prize that will not fade away. God is who we should desire! Our eyes should be fixed on Him, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
However, it's when we get tired that our gaze tends to fall downward. My next post will be about verse 26 - finding strength during this race. There's only one person that can offer us the strength we really need, and that is Christ!
"Run in such a way as to win the prize." ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24
SDG
