This life is really a marathon, not a sprint. Marathons are about endurance and about running long distances; sprints are quick and short; 30 years ago I was into sprinting every day; but my running was in complete darkness, I had no idea where I was going and to make it worse, I thought the future would not come; I always thought about the future and could not see where it ended for me, but now I know exactly where the finish line is, and I know the way there, now all that matters is that I make it to the end.
My perspective on life has been totally redefined, and when I look back I see the way God has planned my life and engineered the most minimal detail. I see who is really in charge of what happens in my life, and even before I was transformed from the inside out, I can see His hand on me. My world has been turned upside down if I look at it from the world's perspective; but from the perspective that really matters, my world is not this world anymore, I am not from here; I don't belong to this world, my citizenship is in heaven.
That is what I look forward to when I say that time is really flying now; I don't have the fear of the end, the fear of death, I have been delivered from that, and it is peaceful to not have fear of dying. 1Co 15:49-58 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. (50) Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (51) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (53) For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (54) But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. (55) "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; (57) but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
It is an awesome thing to understand what Paul is saying to the church, is it not? Knowing this makes me think about the supremacy of Christ in all things, He is the only reason why all the promises of God are possible, just as Paul also says, in Christ all of God's promises are yeah and amen. Victory through our Lord Jesus. That is real assurance, that is assurance that brings peace to the heart and the mind, it transcends all human capacity to think and and feel, and reason, it is supernatural peace; the peace of Jesus. That is the peace He leaves with us to keep us steady until the end of the race.
I often think at the end of the day that God is awesome, I get filled with gratefulness for what He has done for me, for not only taking me out of the darkness and giving me eternal life, but also for keeping me alive and sustaining me everyday. My life is a supernatural event day in and day out; to top it off I have people who really love me, that has to be the greatest gift anyone can receive in this world, people who love you; the Lord Yahweh is awesome in His love, His is awesome in all of His ways.
It is a given that we all struggle with this world, and that sometimes we have to deal with all the apparent complications and the trials and tribulations of living here; in fact, living in this body of flesh is a trial in itself; at least for me it is, my daily fight is with my own heart and the relentless opposition it brings to my existence and my desire for holiness; but I can also be assured that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it; and that my whole being, flesh and heart and soul will be willing to obey God with perfect obedience. Right now the only obedience I have to present is the perfect obedience of Jesus, and that is what makes me acceptable to God, indeed I cannot even imagine what it is to be perfectly obedient to God, but one day I won't struggle with this anymore, I will be willing and able to be perfectly obedient to my Savior, I will not be able to imagine what would it be to disobey Him.
What really matters now, in the big scheme of things, is that I remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, it is not a vain thing but what matters:
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
What is this toiling Paul is talking about? The toil of the work of the Lord. The work is not my work, it is the work of the Lord, so it is impossible to be in vain; see, the Lord works, but we toil, and why do we toil? Because of the opposition of our own beings and this world. It is a daily fight, at least for me it is. Pauls says that even the Spirit groans when interceding for us:
Rom 8:23-27 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (24) For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? (25) But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (26) In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; (27) and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:23-27 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (24) For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? (25) But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (26) In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; (27) and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The toil is against principalities and powers in the heavenly places, and spiritual hosts of wickedness; so it is not even against men or women or just people, but against an enemy we cannot see. Our lives are now lived by faith; the just shall live by faith, said Paul. So when I serve God at church I think about this; sometimes I really don't feel like going, but it happens every single time, I go and I get blessed somehow, that is when I know my toil is not in vain in the Lord, He takes the burden for me, and then He turns it into a blessing and lets me enjoy the fruit of His labor; and if there is a possibility of me sharing the gospel with another person, it is all His doing, not mine.
I can't wait to get to the finish line; I think that if I knew exactly what awaits me it would make it really hard to be here, just imagining what it will be like makes it hard to be here to start with; I wonder who cares about what I'm talking about; this blog is too long anyway, but God knows what I'm talking about, it is all based on what He has said; my whole life has been God's idea, He planned it and brought me into existence at the right time and the right place, and He will take me all the way to the end until time is no more; I think I made sense just now. Psa. 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Have a nice day...
