As the ships raced across the water, the crowds shouted with excitement! The first ship to cross the finish line was fast and sleek. Its captain raced with all he had in him and went home completely satisfied. He came, he persevered, he finished the race and he received his prize!
In life, we are all running a race, and sometimes we run out of energy and begin to slow down. I was cleaning up my living room today when I came across my grandson’s toy cell phone. As I looked at it, I noticed the painted-on battery bar, representing a full battery charge. It got me to thinking about our walk with God. How often do we need to recharge our spirits? We must always be in the Word so that we do not become too weak to reach our goal.
The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon (Psalm 92:12 NASB).
God expects us to continue to grow and to learn, no matter our age.
They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green (Psalm 92:14 NASB).
As we continue to grow in Christ, we become Christlike. We begin to have an outward appearance that reflects our Savior. His Spirit in us gives us the strength to continue on.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).
When we are babes in Christ, we know very little. But as we grow, as we feed on God’s Word, we become mature in our way of thinking. We begin to reach out to others, to show them the way to Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:14–15 NIV).
And God will be with us every day, guiding our steps. He will never leave us to fend for ourselves. Right up until the finish line is in sight and Christ is set to return, He will be with us. He will help us to complete our work.
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
So, unlike my grandson’s toy cell phone, which never needs charging; we need to stay in the Word and trust that God will always give us the strength that we need to keep going. The finish line is coming up faster than we know, so we need to persevere, finish the race and collect our prize!
Debbie Mitchell