Fly – Jump – Run! The Gold Medal Awaits You!

As a mom it’s been my joy to watch my kids play, jump and run – nothing is out of reach. They fall down, we pick them up; they skin a knee, we bandage it; they even break a bone or need a few stitches in the process. But during this time in these little lives we see a freedom that most of us lose – a freedom to believe we can fly, we can reach the stars if we jump high enough, we can run the “fastest” and always WIN.

Let’s consider an Olympic gold medalist. This winner does not get to the winners platform by happenstance – not because another saw a talent, not because of special treatment but because of single focus. The journey began with love and passion – one step, one direction at a time. When this day arrived, the gun went off, the race began and the only focus was forward; there could be nothing but the finish line. Deep down inside the winner will WIN and so faith and focus prevail!

Once the gun went off was there a backward look to evaluate the “near miss”, maybe just a glance to see the cheering crowd, or for sure, to check out how far ahead of the competitors they were?

NEVER ONCE – for looking back for any reason causes distraction and can quickly end the race due to unexpected failure.

Just as in the natural so is our race in the spiritual. We often live our lives looking backwards. We find ourselves living in past hurts, joys, wishful thinking and regrets – all of which cause distractions and derailment of God’s plan in our lives. The faith for the impossible – the faith for tomorrow’s new adventures, and the finish line wins all get sidelined. We have forgotten that we can fly, we can reach the stars and we can run the “fastest” and always WIN.

When you find yourself in this place how do you get back in the race?

Just like the Olympic winner – it takes single focus! Our single focus has to be on the face of Jesus! He is and always is FOR YOU! Just ask – He will restore what has been lost so that just like a child you can jump back up, get back in the race and make it to the finish line a winner. He can restore the belief that you can fly, you can reach the stars and you can run the “fastest” and always WIN.

Don’t look back – look forward to what He has placed within you!  Get up and move one step at a time into His impossible opportunities in your life.  Run, Run, Run like a child again – for then comes the freedom to believe, the freedom to see yourself the winner that you are!

Fly – Jump – Run for the gold medal awaits you!

Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But, one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

Photo courtesy of chrisroll@freedigitalphotos.net

A Place of Pause

Some mornings are just made for sleeping in.  Some are made to jump up and get going for they are pre-planned and full of expectation. Then there are mornings where you get that early morning wake-up call in your spirit.

This morning was one of those – but to wake up and wait?

As we learn to hear and move as the Spirit leads there often comes a place of pause. This place requires discipline and peace to wait and rest in the midst of great anticipation. This place of pause is much harder then to be called to “move out” because our tendency is to take it into our own hands and just get it done – but that’s not how it works in the Kingdom of Heaven.

To run ahead or lag behind is loss – but to wait and only move in synchronized perfect timing with the Spirits call is of great gain however, it comes with a great cost. That cost is to wait –prayerfully wait in readiness with lamps full of oil and ready for His call to move is much harder then it sounds.

Perfect timing, moving on time and waiting are all throughout the Bible. The children of Israel only moved when the cloud by day or pillar by night moved, the 10 virgins had lamps full of oil and waited for the bridegroom, Jesus went where and when the Father directed bringing life exactly where the Father was moving and the apostles directed by the Spirit carried the gospel to all parts of the world. But what does that look like to us? Exactly the same – simply wait, wait, wait – not anxiously but walking in peace and rest, totally at a readiness of spirit.

So, my call this morning was one of waiting, listening and being ready for the call and direction of my bridegroom – with lamps filled with oil I wait in His presence for His stirring and movement before me when my heart that is ready to  receive and quickly move will sing YES, LORD.

 

“Where’s My Keys?”

 

     “Great, they were just here, where are they?” I mumble to myself, my frustration growing as I rummage through my purse for my keys. Unceremoniously I dump the contents into the grocery cart full of my now, getting warmer by the minute, groceries. Not there, anywhere! I look in the car window and there I see them lying on the console.

     Ever been there? Keys are important in our lives for just about everything. When one goes missing we are thrown into chaos, our normal life is disrupted.

     Without a key – the exact key – all entry is unauthorized and creates damage. Breaking, prying or any way in is forceful entry. That’s not why or how keys are made to function.

     The car fueled with gas – ready to exert power to move you forward is stalled without the key. A warm house filled with electricity is ready to provide you with heat, protection and comfort within its power-filled spaces but if you can’t get through the door you still stand out in the cold.

     Likewise as we walk through the open door Jesus created we find many doors placed before us. Some are easy access and then there are those that require the exact-fit key to open.

     In the Kingdom of Heaven we often try to get in doors we don’t have access for because we are using someone else’s keys and end up with damage control instead of living and walking in His favor and freedom. Just as my car key only fits my car, my friend’s key will not work. No matter how hard I might try, her key won’t work on my door. The only solution is either to cause damage getting in or go get the right key.

     Finding the exact-fit keys that He has designated for you is a matter of going to get them. They are there for the asking!

     Remember – no one else’s key will fit! Don’t’ try to borrow one or quickly follow through another’s door that looks more appealing. He has specific ones just for you.

     Step into a life filled with keys to doors you never knew where available as you walk out the story Jesus designed for you.

     Walking out that story is all about living in His presence, listening (not striving), doing as HE directs, and allowing ALL that He has placed within you to bring glory to Him. In faith you begin stepping out when, where and how He directs. Doors (His pre-planned assignments) will present and with confidence you will use the keys HE has placed within you to accomplish the great things HE planned before you were born.

      Let’s go get our keys and move with power through those doors!

Treasure Hunting

My love of treasure hunting must have been ignited as my sisters and I dug in the  mud, making mud pies and hoping to dig all the way down to China.  That love, being passed on to my children as we hunt for hours on beaches, looking for the best shell or the one special rock that had to come home with us, ending up in piles of memory-filled rocks that now lay embedded in concrete on our back yard path, always a reminder of those wonderful hunts.

How does that relate?  Well, it is the beginning of the one true hunt, the one hunt that lasts throughout a lifetime journey, the one where searching for the purpose I was created to express drives me on, the one that I have found as I willingly exchanged my life for the one that Christ purchased for me.

His treasures fill each of us – let’s dig, let’s make mud pies and see how He directs us to find the best shells and perfect rocks that He has planned to use to adorn His kingdom.

Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (ESV)