Keep on Pressing!

In my last post, I mentioned that the words “can” and “cannot” only appear one or two times in the Bible. That information was based on what I found in the concordance in the back of my Bible. However, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance shows that the words “can/canst” appear approximately 285 times in the Bible; the word “cannot” appears approximately 185 times. Sometime in the future, I plan to break down each Scripture reference further, but for now, back to the task at hand.

I ran my second 5K race today . . . the second one I have ever run in my life. I started working with a trainer (Megan . . . she’s AWESOME) after my first race last month. She gave me some tips on exercises that I can do to help increase my speed. I completed my first race in 49:35. My goal for today’s race was to get below 49 minutes. When I looked at the results, I was ecstatic: chip time was 48:55, and gun time was about 49:15. By regularly doing my exercises, I was able to knock off about 20-30 seconds from my last race time!

One thing that I am constantly learning is that anything worth striving for requires focus, dedication, consistency, and faithfulness. I don’t always feel like running or going to the gym, but I do it because I know that my body will ultimately be better off for it.

The same goes for the Christian life. If we truly strive to know everything that we can about God like I mentioned in my last post, we must be focused, dedicated, and faithful at spending time in His Word every day. We must be open to the things He wants to teach us. We must not get discouraged and give up because of past failures. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

I have learned in racing . . . and in life . . . that I cannot compare myself to others. If I do, I am wasting time focusing on the business of others instead of completing my own tasks. When racing, participation and completion are most important, no matter what it takes. The Apostle Paul also saw the same importance. He did not let what others were doing distract him from his goal, which was accomplishing, the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

If there’s one thing that I can encourage my readers to do, don’t let anyone or anything discourage you from your goals. Stay focused, dedicated, and keep pressing toward your “mark”.

Until next time . . . let’s keep on running!