Running the Race

Sometimes I feel like my life is like running a race.  I have just enough time during the day to accomplish what I want (or need) to accomplish!  More and more I realize that what really matters, in addition to goal setting, is the way we run the race.

My stepdaughter, Brittany, played a lot of sports growing up – basketball, soccer, volleyball, and hockey.  My husband always said to me, “Brittany plays to win.”  Winning was her goal and she played in such a way that would lead her to win.  Her attitude and her style of playing stood out among other players who simply played, and who did not “play to win.”  Brittany was aggressive, determined, focused, and goal-minded in her sports games.  By the way, this has always been her approach with her studies, too.  She is goal-minded and she puts 100% effort in everything she does.  She plays to win!

How do we make sure we are running the race in a way that will get us the prize or win the game?  I believe that it has a lot to do with how we prioritize our time, how we plan our goals and dedicate our resources, and, of course, how we carry out our own self-discipline and action toward achieving the goals.  Our activities reflect our passions and our priorities, so if we are not making progress to win the prize (so to speak), then we may need to re-focus our passions and priorities.

Pray the prayer below and humbly ask God to change your heart and give you direction, and He will lead you onto the path and help you to run the race that He has planned for your life!

Devotion

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV)

And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

Prayer:

Lord, give me a single-minded focus to run the race in the way that will honor you.  Help me to be self-disciplined to put you first in my life, and help me to keep my priorities in line with your priorities for me.  Give me wisdom to understand what it means to “run in such a way as to get the prize.”  I ask for wisdom, self-control, and self-discipline to accomplish what you want me to accomplish in my life, so that my goals align with your purpose for my life.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

© 2018 Linda Lijewski