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Stay in the race

 Happy New Month!😊 It has been a while since I last posted here. Today, I have a short piece for you on staying focused. Be blessed as you read.


Track is one of those sports where a momentary loss of focus could cost you the race. As you run, your focus is on the finish line not your opponent. Focusing on your opponent can take your eyes off your planned pace. It is the same thing with our walk as Christians. We are called to focus on the prize and to run with endurance, not on anyone else’s pace.

1 Corinthians 9 vs 24 - Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!

Hebrews 12 vs 1 - Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

To run the race successfully and to win the prize, we must lay aside everything that weighs us down. Everything here includes worry, vain pursuits, and most importantly sin.

How do we successfully lay aside every weight that slows us down? 

Hebrews 12 vs 2 provides the answer. It says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Based on this verse, the instruction is simple – we must fix our eyes on Jesus.

What does it mean to fix our eyes on Jesus?

Analogy – Imagine that you have a weight goal, and you decide that the best way to achieve that goal is by getting on a weight loss plan. This plan includes daily exercises at 6am, a diet change, and a new sleep schedule. For someone who hasn’t done this before, it would be challenging to adjust to your new exercise regime. But overtime, as you get better at it, your body adjusts to the routine, making it a lifestyle.

In the same vein, for anyone who is a Christian and desires growth, there needs to be discipline. Just like you might skip the morning workout on some days or binge on an unhealthy snack on other days, you may have those times when you relax a little. Nevertheless, as you pray more and fellowship with the Holy Spirit consistently, spending time in His word, you will adjust to it. The more you adjust to it, the more you desire new depths, which ultimately becomes a lifestyle. This new lifestyle dictates how you think, speak, act, and react. It transforms you and you become more and more like Christ. Paul in Galatians 5 vs 19 said, My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.

Therefore, the goal is for Christ to be formed in us, for us to be like Him. 2 Corinthians 3 vs 18 says So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.


May the Lord help us to stay focused on Him, to remain consistent in prayer and in studying His word even when things get busy.

Stay focused and encouraged.

Thanks for reading! 😊

Mayowa

 

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