Finish the Race for the Prize

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 3:14)

I’ve known many people who would do the very least they had to do to get the desired result. I was like that in high school. I would study just enough for a B or B+ average but that was about it. I joined the military after school and found myself competing with the men and women in my Tech School class for the highest grade. The only reward for that mark was bragging rights but that was enough for me to strive my hardest. What was missing in my effort was a higher, more lasting purpose. I was doing my best for myself and no one else.

When my personal life tanked the first time, I could have turned to God to help me through, but instead, I continued in my rebellion. I blamed others for my failed marriage. I did things that were wrong, sometimes even illegal, because I thought they would take my internal pain away. I hurt other people, those I loved, by my selfishness. I wasn’t purposely trying to hurt them, but in my striving for happiness, I didn’t notice their pain. It was my way and only my way. Sad, isn’t it?

That’s not God’s way. God calls me to live for him, doing his will through Jesus Christ. Once I came to Jesus I didn’t want to fall back into old habits. I didn’t want to just call myself a Christian and take the easy road from there. I want to live with my whole heart and soul striving for the final goal of eternal life. Not just for bragging rights because I have nothing to brag about. Now I do my best, not for myself but for God. To give him glory and to show the world the Jesus I’ve come to know and love.

God doesn’t want us as part time Christians. He wants us for every waking moment of our day, not just for a ten or fifteen-minute devotional. He wants us seven days a week, not just on Sunday. He wants our whole life, not just our spare time. If we keep our focus on his will for our lives, we will be fit to receive the final prize and we will influence and inspire others to fitness also. One thing we must keep in mind, it’s not a sprint to gain the prize, it’s a marathon with the finish line just ahead.

Father God you call us from the heights of the highest heaven. You express your love for us in so many ways, it’s hard to fathom. You pick each and every one of us out of the hopelessness we’ve lived in every day without you. If we continue to reject the good news, we will remain in the darkness of our own making. We can blame bad luck or other people for our circumstances, but the truth tells a different story. When we give you the reigns of our lives, we escape any fear of an unknown future. When we decide to run the race you’ve set before us, our prize is heaven. Lord help us to not give up on running this race. Don’t let us listen to the discouraging words of Satan, who will tell us any lie to get us to quit. Don’t let us ever think that following Jesus is not that important. Help us to listen to guidance of the Holy Spirit to resist the urge to quit. Thank you, Father, for Jesus Christ who we follow, to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We pray in the name above all names, Amen!