7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
I was reminded these past couple of days through stories of others,who didn't handle tragedy well, why we need the local church and the power of the holy spirit in our lives.
Life is like a race. All of us start off at the starting block waiting for the gun to go off. Crowds of people are cheering for us waving banners and flags in the process. It is a festive atmosphere. All of us waiting to start this race get a rush of adrenaline in full anticipation of what was about to happen.
(Sound of the pistol blares off)
All of us leave the starting block trying to posture ourselves into a winning position. It isn't long before those with the fastest set of legs take the lead. This wasn't a sprint, but a much longer race that required endurance and strength and lots of faith.
Faith that they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. Faith that they had trained well from infancy to this moment to get a running start off of this starting block. Some of this faith comes from external sources, like family and friends who cheer us on. Some of the faith comes from the indwelling holy spirit freely given to us by our creator God.
Like a everlasting fountain of water we gain spiritual nourishment at a time we need it. Later in the race. when the leg cramps set in, when our muscles ache, when we begin thinking thoughts of just quitting that the source of our strength does matter.
It is the runners that are well trained in the mental part of the race that carry on; kong after other runners stopped running. Long after others stopped believing in themselves.
I was once again reminded that our faith in God and our faith in Jesus Christ and his redeeming power that will get us through whatever this life dishes out. But, we need to make the conscious decision to belong to a local church where we can be inspired by God's teaching and be encourage by others as we run our race.
For some, tragedy causes some people to recoil and go into seclusion away from the throngs of believers who potentially could help them.
For some, tragedy creates a resurgence of their drinking behaviors. Instead of taking communion once a month in honor of God who gave them hope, they drink every day to drown out the pain and sorrow of their loss.
For others who choose to remain embedded in a faith based community in the face of the horrific events they are renewed day by day by the church body of believers and God's indwelling spirit. They never lose sight of the finish line.They have the confidence they would finish this race.
The most beautiful part of this picture is that God wants to be part of your suffering. He understands what it means to lose someone special and this makes him well equipped to run the race right beside you, to help you finish with a winning stride while giving you visions of your loved one in heaven. God is always there and he has never abandoned you no matter how you feel from moment to moment.
That, my friends, is a beautiful thought to behold!
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