“I’ll help you finish strong.” Love, Abba

“…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, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1b-3

“…let us RUN with perseverance…”

The journey that the Lord has placed before us on this earth is not a stroll in the park, it is not a leisurely walk down a shaded path, not even a jog, but a run. This run is not an easy run…notice how the verse says with perseverance. There are weights that can pull us down and slow down our pace. We are told to throw off that which could slow us down and the sin that can so easily entangle us. The Lord knows that the sin that we allow ourselves to get caught up in is what can pull us down, put a limp in our step, and leave us wandering aimlessly on the path instead of running in the race. If we do not focus on the Lord for strength, we will lose heart. If we do not focus on the Lord, we will wander off the racetrack and into an abyss where sin will entangle our every step. Jesus sacrificed His LIFE in order for us to run this race to His glory, focused on Him, without sin entangling our hearts and tripping up our feet.

My junior year of college I served our cheerleading team as captain and I’ll never forget our first week of practice after summer break. Over the summer, each of us was supposed to condition and run on our own so that when we got back to school we would not be out of shape. Well, as one can imagine, this did not happen for everyone. Upon our arrival back to campus one of our requirements was to complete a “fitness test” which included running a timed mile under a specific time. There were a few girls on the team who absolutely despised running and completely struggled with the concept of running a timed mile. When we had our fitness test, we had times ranging from 6 minutes and 15 seconds to around 15 minutes for a mile run. Our trainer and our coach was not pleased with us and told us that we would run a timed mile everyday until the whole team was under a certain time. The girls that had gotten the 15 minute miles were terrified– they did not think it was possible to drop their times in half in just a matter of a few days.

Before we came to the track the next day, my trainer asked me if I would be the “pacer” and pace the run for everyone. So when we got to the track I “paced” the mile in the time we were all supposed to meet and still, not everyone could get the mile. There were only a few girls left, so our trainer decided to just make those that had to make the time come back the next day. She asked once again if I would come back to pace the girls.

I’ll never forget that run. I was determined that my teammates were going to make their time limit. Before we ran I talked to them, gave them pointers, encouraged them and told them I would be there with them every step of the way. When we were finishing our third lap out of the four one of the girls looked at me and said, “I can’t do this anymore.” I told her how close she was, less than a quarter of a mile, and that she could do it, and she would finish on time. All of a sudden, about halfway done with our final lap, I felt her reach and grab my arm and ask me to help her. I grabbed her by the hand and literally pulled her the rest of the way. She made her time, and that’s what teamwork was all about that day on our team.

That’s an example of Jesus in our lives. Jesus is the One who has run the race before us…He knows the path, He knows what’s up ahead, and He knows how to pace our journey. However, sometimes, even when we are so close to finishing what He has asked of us, we tell Him we cannot do it anymore, and we want to give up. He reminds us with His Word that He is with us, He’s there to hold our hand and give us that extra boost of endurance. And oh how He loves it when we lunge after Him, grasp Him and ask Him to pull us to the finish line. He longs for us to trust Him, to grab onto Him with both hands and let Him accomplish everything He wants to in our lives. What a blessing! How exciting that we serve a God who LONGS for us to reach out to Him. What a blessing that our Savior loves us enough to give His life in exchange for ours. But we can’t run the race if we don’t get rid of all the sin that entangles our lives. If we keep all the sin on our backs, we’ll wander aimlessly around the course and we won’t cross the finish line.

Stay strong. Grab onto the Lord and let Him pull you to the finish line. Finish well.

“I will carry you.” Love, Abba

“But now this is what the Lord says — He who created you…He who formed you…”Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:1-4 NIV)

Ever felt like you were in over your head? Ever felt like if there was only one more thing put on your plate it would surely break? Ever wanted to give up? Wasn’t this “Christian” life supposed to be easy? What happens when you follow God with all your heart but yet, your life is still in shambles? Do you doubt your God when the world comes crashing down around you or do you run to His everlasting arms?

Many people live under this facade that life is perfect, life is great and there’s nothing wrong in their hearts. Many people walk around without scars on their hearts because the wounds are still too deep to heal. And there are many people who walk around thinking that if they follow Christ with all their hearts then the rest of their lives will be easy. How earth-shattering it can be when they discover for the first time that their life is crashing down around them.

The Lord never promises that this life will be easy, in fact He says that “In this life you will have trouble…” but thankfully He follows up by saying, “…but take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This life is not easy. There are trials we cannot understand and cannot comprehend. Whether it deals with family troubles, financial troubles, economic troubles, and the list goes on and on, seldom are there times when everything is “just peachy.”

But…regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what is going on in your life right now, there is hope. 

The Lord longs for you to run to Him with your problems. He longs for you to talk to Him about your joys and your sorrows. He’s big enough to create and take care of the universe and He’s big enough to take care of your heart. He created you and He loves you with an everlasting love. His desire for when you are hurting is for you to run to His arms stay there. As children run to their fathers when they are scared, your Abba Father wants you to run to His arms, talk to Him about your hurts, your struggles, and your pain. Psalm 91:1 says, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” The verse does not say you will find rest when you are out on your own trying to figure out this life on your own timing or in your own strength. The verse does not say that you will find rest when you are telling God what to do, when you view yourself as “eye to eye” with Him. No, quite the contrary, the verse says that rest is found in the shadow of the Almighty. To be in God’s shadow means you must be fervently seeking Him, standing there next to Him, listening to what He is saying to comfort you and what He desires for you. There alone can you find true rest. So whatever is going on in your life…run to the base of God’s throne, take Him your heart, and let Him give you rest.

“…The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31

When the world is crashing down around you…God is with you.

When you’re passing through the waters…God is with you.

When you’re passing through the rivers…God is with you…they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire…God is with you…you will not burn and the flames will not set you ablaze.

The Lord has redeemed you and called you His child. 

YOU are precious and honored in HIS sight. 

He loves you. 

This is what the Lord says to you today and everyday…

I will carry you when you cannot go forward on your own.

I will carry you when the waves are too big for you to walk through.

I will carry you when the mountains in front of you are too big for you to climb.

I will stand beside you when you need support from someone stronger than yourself.

I will go before you when you are scared of the journey ahead and need to know that everything will be okay.

I will hold you when you have no strength.

I will hold you when you need comfort.

I will hold you when there is no one else there to hold you.

I will hold your hand to remind you that I am here.

I will hold your hand to remind you that you are mine.

I will hold your hand to remind you that my strength is greater than your strength.

I will hold your hand to remind you that you are precious to me. 

I will hold your hand to remind you that you are honored in my sight.

I will hold your hand to remind you that I love you more than you can even imagine.

scars on your heart

When you’re a kid and you fall off your bike and scrape up your knee, your mom or dad pick you up, and take you inside. After they wash your knee, the next thing they do is put some peroxide on it. This BURNS and you SCREAM, and you cry, and you pitch a fit before they put Neosporin on it, a band aid, and then “kiss your boo boo all better” before you go on your way. To a child, the act of pouring the peroxide on the wound seems unnecessary, painful, and cruel. However, you know that your parents know what is best for you.

Over the next few days your knee will scab over and then it will start itching…so you scratch it. The more you scratch it, the more it itches, and the more it starts bleeding again. But, finally you realize you should leave it alone, it heals, and leaves a scar.

When we’re riding our “bike in life” sometimes we fall off and scrape our “knees” really bad. At that moment, our heavenly Father, picks us up, takes us inside and cleans us up. A lot of times we don’t like what He uses to clean us up because it hurts and it burns. We pitch a fit and fight against Him because we don’t want to deal with the pain. But He knows what is best, and He keeps using things in our life to get us to stay away from scraping our “knee” again.

But then we have that “itch” to go back to that sin or whatever it may be that’s causing pain in our lives, and when we “scratch” it we end up bleeding again and again as we keep going back. Until finally, we realize in our finite minds, that we need to stop going back to that itch that only causes us more pain, and trust in God. But even after the wound is gone, there’s still a scar there on our hearts.

On my knee I have two scars, both from my childhood, one from falling off my bike, and one from falling off my scooter when I was little. On a daily basis I do not look down and notice the scars that are there because they have been there for so long. However, if I think about it then I notice they’re there, and I can remember the days that I got the scars.

The same thing is true for the scars on my heart…Some are from personal struggles, some are from other people that have been in my life, and then there are those from various life experiences that I have had.

The question is this…what do you do with the scars on your heart? How do you handle the struggles, the memories, and the past pain that created those scars?

Do you believe that God can heal your heart and take away the pain in your life? Or, are you on this journey just trying to get by and ignore the scars that are ever so present on your heart?