Seriously, those were the words I woke up to this morning. They popped into my mind from nowhere. They were the words written on the tshirts of my son when he was in his high school football program. Bigger, Faster, Stronger. Push, train, reach for success was the idea behind the motto.
I spent this past weekend facilitating a life plan for an amazing Christian woman whose main
goal in life was to become a mature woman of God and live out her purpose as a leader of a non-profit teen mentoring program and a Life Purpose Coach. What a privilege to have a front row seat into looking at this woman's struggles and successes! As I watched her past, present and action steps for the future unfold, I was impressed with her stamina to persevere, and with her clear ideas of small steps to become more consistent and intentional with her waking moments.
I couldn't help but think of how many mornings, instead of letting God lead me to put words down on paper which is the way I hear Him best, whether it be in blog form or life journal or prayer journal , I forego the privilege and lose my ability to persevere in seeking Him. I'm loving sitting in His presence, letting Him guide my thoughts this morning. So, why don't I do that every morning?
We're told clearly in Hebrews 12:1: 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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross.
But what of the times when this is more the picture? What about those mornings where getting out of bed at all takes extreme perseverance?
What about those seasons I wrote of in the last blog? Isn't it okay to have seasons of productivity and service interspersed with seasons of rest? As I look back on my last seasons, I had a fall of busy, joyful service and productivity followed by a long winter of not feeling well and just plodding. This spring I feel energized to write again and plan new projects, and be excited about the prospect of another new client on the horizon instead of wondering if I've got the energy.
As Hebrews told us, Jesus is the pioneer of our faith, our model. Yes, he persevered. We see him in the pages of the Word getting up early to pray and to walk the dusty roads fulfilling His purpose. But we also see Him rest peacefully even in the storm. The Bible gives us another example of resting when Elijah confessed his exhaustion from running for his life in Kings 19: I have had enough Lord. Take my life. Then he lay down and fell asleep. It was then that the Lord sent him an angel to tell him to get up and eat, He did, and lay down again. Once again the angel said, "Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you." This time he was strengthened and heard God's command to get up and stand on the mountain where he was rewarded with God's gentle whisper with direction for his next steps.
Notice that even in our rest we must eat and drink and listen for the Lord. Never are we to rest or serve so much that we don't persevere in our time with the Lord. But we also don't have to set action steps that are so rigid and prescribed and lofty that they don't include listening for His guidance of when to move forward and when to lay low. For me there are days and maybe seasons of getting up and blogging as He fills my mind with inspiration for the journey and my cup runneth over and I want to share. For me there are times of serving with all my might, when I get to coach and do life plans and retreats, and facilitate bible studies. And then there are times when I just pray and study and eat and drink in, waiting for a word again, when exhaustion or the weaknesses of my immune system that seems to be my form of Paul's thorn slow me down.
For you, there may be different kinds of productivity, for our purposes are all different. For years, my productivity was spent in teaching and mothering and being a wife and serving where I could at church. There had to be times of rest and there was no room for serving like I do in this season of life. But there were also times of laziness when I got up after my rest but didn't eat and drink from His Word enough to persevere fully. And I became sluggish and not peaceful in my rest.
What is behind the Bigger, Faster, Stronger motto is the training, the rest, the nutrition that also go into being a successful athlete. It's not just the working out part that it seems to imply. I pray that I will continue to eat well daily nutritionally to do all I can to stay well physically, getting my rest and down time. And to eat well spiritually never skipping my daily intake of Him in some form, so that I truly will persevere in all areas of my unique purpose and be Bigger, Faster, and Stronger for His kingdom.
Run the Race with Endurance
Bigger, faster, stronger!
We're told at every turn.
Persevere, get better!
Study, pray and learn!
Serve Him! Use your gifts!
Have quiet time! Press on!
Be fruitful! Be intentional!
And get up at dawn!
All words of wisdom.
But we must hear it all.
And must walk with Him
And listen lest we fall.
He doesn't give us formulas,
And a schedule that's prescribed.
He just wants us to walk with Him
And daily in Him imbibe.
For life is never easy,
Never constant in its flow,
It's dark and light and good and bad.
We can't be in the know
Of how He wants us to walk each day.
If we did, we wouldn't need Him so.
He'd set us on our path
And we'd blindly know how to go.
Instead of bigger, faster, stronger
In our ways and accomplishments.
Just to remain in contact should be
The point of our perseverance.
Then He'll show us when to push or rest
Only if we quietly stay
At His feet waiting
The marching orders of each day.
.
.
