I love trail running. Most days I head out the door about 200 feet to an old logging road in the middle of hundreds of acres. Sometimes I encounter a hunter or a farmer slowly navigating his truck down the rutty, muddy, rough terrain; but most mornings it's just me and the wildlife.
But with running on an isolated trail comes something I don't love: spider webs.
Invisible. Sticky. Evil.
I see them at the last second, too late to avoid them. It gets in my hair and face, clings to my arms, sticks to my neck. And it takes me the rest of the run to get rid of it.
But I've gotten wise: I carry a branch with hundreds of small stems shooting in all directions, perfect for destroying the web before I even see it. It's my spider shield. And though it takes effort to carry it and keep it right in front of me, it's worth it. Because my runs are spider-free.
Or so I thought. The other day I tossed down my branch at the end of a run, took one step, and walked smack into a web. It got everywhere. I was entangled.
And my mind immediately went to Hebrews 12:
"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," (verse 1, NIV, italics mine).
Those spider webs should remind us of something else we don't love: SIN.
Invisible. Sticky. Evil.
Satan is tricky. Rarely do we see sin coming; most of the time we see it at the last second, too late to avoid it. It gets ALL OVER US, and it takes us the rest of the month or the year or our lifetime to get rid sin's consequences.
But the next verse in Hebrews 12 helps us to be wise. In the next verse it tells us how to keep away from those webs:
"...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..."
We have a Righteous Branch with hundreds of little stems shooting in all directions, perfect for destroying the power of sin before we even see it: JESUS.
And we keep our focus on Him, allowing Him to go before us in the form of FAITH. Our faith in Jesus Christ forms a shield in front of us, ready for the evil that is waiting.
Doesn't that remind you of another verse:
"In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one," (Ephesians 6:16, HCSB).
Faith is the noun form of believe. When we believe (verb), we have faith (noun). And that faith is our shield against the evil one.
So we fix our eyes on Jesus, believing Him when He says,
"You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33, HCSB)
"...if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing," (James 1:5, HCSB)
"Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4:6-7, HCSB)
(And there are hundreds more.)
Believe Him. He's your shield of faith. He protects you from sin. He clears the path before you.
Rejoice that our faith keeps Satan at bay.
Rejoice that you don't have to fight sin in your own power; Jesus is here for that.
And rejoice that spider web season is almost over for us trail-runners. Bring on the Winter!!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Trust the Temperature
I knew it was 55 degrees. The thermometer on my porch told me so.
But it was a rainy morning. It was cloudy, windy, sunless, sprinkling.
And even though I have been a runner for years and I knew that 55 degrees calls for a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, I just didn't believe it that one morning. It looked colder than that. It felt colder than that. So I put on pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
And, of course, I found myself 5 minutes into my run with my long-sleeved shirt tied around my waist, my legs overheating.
Why didn't I just dress according to the temperature, instead of what I felt it would be like outside?
Maybe because I sometimes talk myself out of acting according to God's Word, instead of what I feel like.
Oh, you too?
A thermometer is a modern miracle. It doesn't care what it feels like outside; it just tells the truth.
So does Scripture.
Without God's Word, we're a mess. Because we're weak. Because we're fearful. Because we are proud. Because we listen to ourselves.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)
BUT
"The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart," (Hebrews 4:12, NIV).
Your heart will deceive you. (Can I get an amen?!?!) I mentor many college girls and I hear these statements all the time:
"But I just feel so..."
"But he makes me feel..."
"But I've always wanted..."
And I listen because I love them. I give them the words a 20-something girl needs to hear. But what I want to say is, "Your heart is deceiving you! What does God's Word say?"
(Don't worry. Sometimes I do say just that, if they can handle it :)
And I pray that, if you need to hear it, you hear the Spirit saying the same thing to you today:
"Stop. Breathe. You have blown this out of proportion, because you're looking at the situation through your own eyes. But you don't understand it all. You don't realize all that's going on. I DO! And when you need to know what is really going on, you find that in My Word."
So you check the thermometer of God's Word and you understand the real temperature.
Your feelings are real. Your heartache is real. Your struggles are real.
But you are swayed by your circumstances, emotions, past, passions, temperament, and (sometimes most of all) hormones. God's Word isn't. IT IS TRUTH.
So commit today to checking the temperature of your life with God's thermometer: the Bible.
Here are a few to get you started:
"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.
Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will never be shaken," (Psalm 62:1).
"The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged," (Deuteronomy 31:8).
"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need," (Hebrews 4:16).
"The LORD will fight for you. You need only to be still," (Exodus 14:14).
And as you check the thermometer this week, I pray you'll think about the true assessment of your life and circumstances that can be found only in the Bible.
PLEASE, share your own favorite verses that keep you grounded, focused, and confident in Christ alone. Write them in the comments below so we can all find new trust in our thermometer!
But it was a rainy morning. It was cloudy, windy, sunless, sprinkling.
And even though I have been a runner for years and I knew that 55 degrees calls for a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, I just didn't believe it that one morning. It looked colder than that. It felt colder than that. So I put on pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
And, of course, I found myself 5 minutes into my run with my long-sleeved shirt tied around my waist, my legs overheating.
Why didn't I just dress according to the temperature, instead of what I felt it would be like outside?
Maybe because I sometimes talk myself out of acting according to God's Word, instead of what I feel like.
Oh, you too?
A thermometer is a modern miracle. It doesn't care what it feels like outside; it just tells the truth.
So does Scripture.
Without God's Word, we're a mess. Because we're weak. Because we're fearful. Because we are proud. Because we listen to ourselves.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)
BUT
"The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart," (Hebrews 4:12, NIV).
Your heart will deceive you. (Can I get an amen?!?!) I mentor many college girls and I hear these statements all the time:
"But I just feel so..."
"But he makes me feel..."
"But I've always wanted..."
And I listen because I love them. I give them the words a 20-something girl needs to hear. But what I want to say is, "Your heart is deceiving you! What does God's Word say?"
(Don't worry. Sometimes I do say just that, if they can handle it :)
And I pray that, if you need to hear it, you hear the Spirit saying the same thing to you today:
"Stop. Breathe. You have blown this out of proportion, because you're looking at the situation through your own eyes. But you don't understand it all. You don't realize all that's going on. I DO! And when you need to know what is really going on, you find that in My Word."
So you check the thermometer of God's Word and you understand the real temperature.
Your feelings are real. Your heartache is real. Your struggles are real.
But you are swayed by your circumstances, emotions, past, passions, temperament, and (sometimes most of all) hormones. God's Word isn't. IT IS TRUTH.
So commit today to checking the temperature of your life with God's thermometer: the Bible.
Here are a few to get you started:
"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.
Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will never be shaken," (Psalm 62:1).
"The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged," (Deuteronomy 31:8).
"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need," (Hebrews 4:16).
"The LORD will fight for you. You need only to be still," (Exodus 14:14).
And as you check the thermometer this week, I pray you'll think about the true assessment of your life and circumstances that can be found only in the Bible.
PLEASE, share your own favorite verses that keep you grounded, focused, and confident in Christ alone. Write them in the comments below so we can all find new trust in our thermometer!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)