no turning back

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."
- 1 Corinthians 9:24

I've done my rounds and as we're hitting the final stretch of this season, I'm tired, beaten, and bruised. I don't feel like I know what I'm doing anymore, and of the things I know I should be doing, I don't feel like I have the strength to get up and do it. Sometimes, I want to give up and slink to the sidelines. But no, God offers a power I could never muster up on my own.

"I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation."
- Psalm 118:13-14

"Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'"
- Luke 9:62

It's painful to say, but sometimes the only way past the fire is through it.

I watched the movie Chariots of Fire with a friend yesterday and something amazing about the story is just the heart of the men who don't stop running the race they're given. It's inspiring. Easier said than done, for sure.

The end for us is more than just tape marking a finish line. It's the hope of finding good rest without regret, it's the hope of seeing and enjoying the treasures we stored up in heaven. It's the hope of meeting Jesus face-to-face one day and hearing, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." We don't stop running this race until we die. No turning back.