Finish Strong

Secretariat 

Since coming back from Nicaragua, I have not posted anything due to some personal matters. The last 3 weeks have had some of the toughest challenges I have ever faced in my life. During this time I began to question many different things. But I always reminded myself that God is good. That's a core value that does not change, no matter what circumstances we go through. This core value is what I rest on. As I rest on this value I gain strength to do my day to day work.

From the beginning of the school year I felt to run with what God has given me. In fact the theme song for me has been "I will run" by Misty Edwards. But like most of us, during challenges we can loose the path that God has you in.  But even during these times of challenges, when he tells you to start something, finish strong no matter what it looks like.

Take a look at Secretariat. Some of us have seen the movie, which is one of my all time favorite movies. Here is a horse that loves to run. When it was time to run the last race of the triple crown, Secretariat did not start slow like most horses did during this 1.5 mile race. He started out with a full sprint out of the gate! Most people thought he could not keep up this pace but because Secretariat was born to run, he was doing what he loves to do. Anytime you do what you love, you always will out work someone who is in it just to work.  In the stretch, Secretariat opened a 1/16 mile lead on the rest of the field. At the finish, he won by 31 lengths (breaking the margin-of-victory record set by Triple Crown winner Count Fleet in 1943, who won by 25 lengths) and ran the fastest 1½ miles on dirt in history, 2:24 flat, which broke the stakes record by more than 2 seconds. This works out to a speed of 37.5 mph for his entire performance. Secretariat's world record still stands, and in fact, no other horse has ever broken 2:25 for 1½ miles on dirt.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_(horse)

The death of Lazarus. When Jesus heard this, he did not react to the situation. In fact he stayed with his disciples 2 more days. If someone did that today they would say that they dont care, but Jesus always did what the father told him to do. He responded "This sickness will not end in death..". Here's the thing, he did not allow the circumstance to take his eye from heaven. He kept his focus on his father. This is the key to keep running even though you may be going through circumstances.

Now how we run is different with everyone. For some it could be intercession, but for others like myself it could be to keep dreaming. But how do you dream while you're dealing with events that need your attention? God does not neglect the people who are in need. In fact he does say if you feed the poor, you feed him. So if I am a dreamer, I may not have the same grace a someone who is pastoral, but I can provide someone faith to believe in the future no matter what it looks like. Your role in cirmustances is still always linked to who you are.

So for me during this season in my life, I will keep dreaming and finish strong on what God has given me because its not just for my victory but for others. It's so that I can give it away.