Today while I was running, I was thinking about some things and praying about some things. About half way through, I started to get tired and I remembered something I heard Joseph Prince say in one of his sermons last week. He was talking about a race he was running. While he was running, he kept mediating on God's word and repeating "they shall run and not get weary." So I began to do the same. Its amazing how much strength we gain when we apply the word of God to our life. Like Joseph Prince, I began to pick up the pace. I was able to finish my four miles. Not only that, but I was feeling like I could have kept going. I was great!
But while I was running I began to think about all the things we put ourselves through to look good or to be the best at something. We train for all types of things: races, work, certifications, etc. But what about discipleship?
When Jesus was speaking to his disciples he told them in Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…" Now… who were the disciples? Theses were the guys that followed Jesus everywhere and hung onto his every word trying to the best of their abilities to live out their lives according to the way God ordained it. They prayed, they fasted, they listened, the spread the gospel, they helped heal the sick, they allowed God to use them. Then Jesus tells them to make disciples of everyone! That includes you and me too! But what does this look like?
I think training to be a disciple can be a lot similar training for a race to be run. You may be thinking "whoa! Running and being like Jesus are two totally different things!" Yes, but just hear me out.
One of the first things you learn about when you begin training is what to eat. Food is so important to our daily lives. Food is not just used to make yourself bigger or smaller. Food is (or should be) used to fuel your body, giving you the energy you need to complete the activities of the day.
Like food is to your body, the word is to your spirit. And just like food shouldn't just be used (or not used) to make you skinny, the word shouldn't be manipulated so that you or others can do what you want. God was very specific about how He wants to live and He gave us instructions on His word. The word should be used as fuel for you to live your life as God intended. The word gives you hope when it seems all hope is gone. It give us wisdom for when we've been foolish. And answers to every question!
So how do you feed yourself? I'm glad you asked! Spend time with God! When you wake up, before you go to bed and all throughout the day. After all, we feed our bodies every 2-3 hours. Some of us even snack all day! You can read, pray and meditate for your meals and listen to awesome praise and worship music for snacks!
Next there is practice. This is where you take what you've researched and learn how to put exactly what and how you do what you're suppose to do into play. You even research your competition to see how you can beat them. Now if you've never run before or its been a while, the first day of running is the worse! Let's be honest about it. The sound of your feet hitting the pavement (reminding you of how slow your progress is) can be highly irritating. You feel winded and can't catch your breath. You feel like you've been running miles when really you haven't made it two blocks! Its sucks! But you can't give up so you start again the next day, the day after that, the next after that and so on. Soon you begin to notice how beautiful nature is. You're feeling your music coupled with the sound of your feet and before you know it, you're 3 miles in and feel like you can keep going.
The same with reading your Bible. When you first start, you seem to get every distraction (see the enemy doesn't want you to know God's word). Someone calls, your favorite show comes on, the kids need something, you spouse needs everything, its long, its "boring" and then you fall asleep. Sound familiar? Its easy to get discouraged in all this, but like running, you press on. Before you know it, you're reading everyday (sometimes twice). You're finding a lot of cool stories and gaining crazy knowledge! You may not even realize how wrapped up you become in the awesomeness of God until you're done reading and go "wow!" But you have to keep at it! And once you see what God has commanded, you to do what He says. See God is your Coach and His word, the Bible, is your playbook.
Soon after you begin, there comes that time that most of us dread (while there are some that fully embrace it). During your time of training, you may experience some pain. Your muscles hurt. You can barely walk, stand or sit. Sometimes during training the only thing that feels good is lying down doing absolutely nothing. You don't even want to think! Guess what? The same thing happens when you are training to be like Christ.
When you are trying to live your life for Christ, you seem to get hit from ever direction. Spiritual warfare is a beast that, if you let it, will have you wanting to lie down and do nothing. You will experience pain. Maybe you lose some friends and other loved ones. Maybe you are placed in situations where you feel all alone and are being forced to rely solely on God. You may cry and even think "why me?" But like training, no matter what the pain is, you have to keep going. Continuing on is what works the soreness out of your muscles. Rehabing is what mends what has been injured. No matter what, you have to keep going reminding yourself that the pain means that there is change and that it has a purpose!
Finally its race day! The day when you see how all of your hard work has payed off. The day you beat every obstacle because you have prepared yourself. Same as discipleship. You've read, you've prayed, you may have even fasted. You've gone to church, you've sang songs, but when all that is over and you are left to face the world, how will your training have paid off?
Just like athletic training, this is all hard work. You feed yourself (Spirit), you train (reading God's word and putting it in action), go through the pain (rejection, persecution from those who don't understand) and you don't give up. There's one last thing to ask yourself… When you get to the finish line, where will you stand?
You may think this is a sprint but honey its a marathon! And my friend, this is only just the beginning.
With Love Always,
JC
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