Not With Uncertainty

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

NKJV

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for  an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. I know where I am running towards. My destination is heaven. I know what I’m seeking; to be one with Christ. I am seeking those things which are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Almighty God, the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. For so long I had ran with uncertainty, and occasionally still I will get distracted or my mind will wander, or perhaps I’ll get to a fork in the road and not know which way to go. Jesus is faithful to be my guide in those times. His Spirit will stir in me to get my head back in the game, to set my face like flint with determination for the race set before me. I am running for gold. Why waste time fooling around with what the world has when God has something so much greater? His plans for me are unimaginably wondrous and prosperous. There will be times where it feels I'm running over hot cement with my shoes off, or I’m unstable and my feet burn as I try to sprint across the beach, each step sinking in the sand and slowing my pace. What I don't see, and what I need to be conscious to know, is that ahead, there is good awaiting me. Cool grass, shade, and a refreshing glass of water. Only to fuel me up so that I may set out again to sprint with all my heart to the next checkpoint. As a runner goes from checkpoint to checkpoint, so I go from glory to glory in Christ, and everything I go through is glory. I glory in tribulation, and I glory in triumph. The only struggle within all this is the desire of the flesh to sit down and rest. To take time off. To take a break. But through the Holy Spirit I can press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I can discipline my body into subjection to the will of God. When I run or walk with Christ, an imperishable crown is guaranteed in the life hereafter. My heavenly home will be built with precious metals and gems, as a reward for using the life God gave me in Christ to glorify and worship Him. Through the thick and thin, keeping the discipline and commitment to Christ will only lead me to earning imperishable prizes.