“Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.” Psalms 119:2 NLT
It’s the Christmas season. I know we haven’t gotten to Thanksgiving yet but ads, commercials and stores are definitely telling us it’s time. The loud, colorful commercials want us to believe that we will find joy this season by getting or giving the right gift.
But we will only truly be joyful when we set our hearts to obey God’s word and seek him. He is the source of our joy and contentment.
“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” Hebrews 12:1 NIV
In 48 hours, I’ll be running my first marathon. I can’t believe that after almost 8 months of training it’s time. It’s time to run my race. My training has been interrupted more times than I care to remember but I’ve made it through.
I’ve learned so much over the past few months about both running and life. Many of the blog posts I’ve written were worked out during a run on the trails.
As I’ve been preparing for this race, I’ve come across Hebrews 12:1 quite a bit. In fact, the planner I use has a monthly verse and this month’s verse was Hebrews 12:1! Coincidence? I don’t think so.
This verse is such a powerful reminder that each of us has our own race to run that God has marked out for us. But many of us are too busy looking at other people’s races and envying their results.
I’ve found it so freeing actually running my own race. Both physically and spiritually. I use a running app that is basically like Facebook but for runners. We can see our friends’ runs and comment and like but I’ve heard many people say they feel bad about their own run after seeing others’ stats.
When we compare ourselves to others, it actually slows us down in our own race. We end up doing too much too soon or losing focus on what God wants us to do.
If I look at and envy the free time my friend has while her kids are at school, I won’t be content in homeschooling my children even though it’s the race God has marked for me.
If I envy the lavish vacation someone on Facebook posts, I won’t be content with sticking to the financial goals God has marked out for my family.
When we run the race that God has marked out for us in our homes, business, career or family, we can trust that he has everything figured out.
I know a few people who have a running coach. If ever I win the lottery, that will be one of my splurges. A running coach can create a plan tailored specific to your goals. You don’t have to think about what workout you need to do or how far you need to run; you just look at your plan. And if something comes up that interferes with your training, your running coach adjusts things and moves them around.
Now, a running coach is not in my budget (yet) but I do have access to someone who has created a tailored plan for my life. I don’t have to worry about what city to live in or what job to take, I can just look at his plan. I don’t have to know how long it will take for my blog to get noticed or my book to get published. I can look at his plan and know that “he who began a good work will carry it to completion” (Philippians 1:6).
When something interferes with my race, he can move things around so that “all things are working together for my good” (Romana 8:28). If you haven’t caught on, I’m talking about God! God has every detail of my life, and yours, mapped out and when we stay in our lane, stay in his word and stay in his presence, we WILL run our race and run it well.
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”” Isaiah 40:8 NIV
It’s fall here in the Midwest, a season I had very little experience with growing up in Texas. I love this time of year. There is a street that we take to go to the library that we call “Tree Tunnel Road”. The trees on either side of the road meet above the road, like they are reacting out to each to each other. During the fall, the leaves trade their green wardrobe for yellows, orange, red and purple.
In a time when things can change overnight, it is reassuring to know that God is always the same. He is faithful and his great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4) are not conditioned on what is happening in the world. Take heart! His promises are still YES and AMEN!
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalms 42:11 NIV
I loved watching game shows when I was you get. I always like when the contestants got to choose their prize by selecting from a group of closed doors. The audience would yell at them and they’d look around frantically for the right guess.
I feel like that’s how many of us live our lives. We don’t know what to do so we look to others frantically for help in making major decision. Where to live, where to shop, where to send our kids to school.
I wrote a few days ago about choosing peace. What I love about making this decision is that I already know what’s behind the door. The psalmist was going through a rough time but he made a choice that gave him hope.
He didn’t have to guess what would happen if he opened the door to hope, he knew his soul would be revived. This day, my prayer is for you to choose hope and walk through it. Nothing is too hard for our God. Your miracle could be on the other side of your hope.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 NIV
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Do you charge into the restroom full speed? Do you stretch? Meditate? Pray? Grab your phone? Every morning we are presented with a new opportunity to start the day off in a way that will fulfill us or drain us.
When we choose to put the things of God first, the rest of life will come together. I can always tell when I haven’t been seeking God first. It feels like little by little, the other areas of my life begin to crumble.
We don’t have to go back to flip phones or delete social apps from our devices, but what if we seek before scroll? What if we read a scripture before taking that selfie? What if we pray before we play that game? When we take care of our spirits, our bodies tend to line up as well.
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”” John 11:25-26 NKJV
I’ve been to 3 funerals in 2 months. I think I said this yesterday but today’s verse in the Bible app seemed to be in the same vein of thinking.
Seeing people leave this earth is hard. Whether it’s at the end of a long battle with illness or unexpected, experiencing the death of a loved one is never easy. I am, however, encouraged knowing that the 3 people whose lives were celebrated had a relationship with Christ.
I know that although they are no longer here, they chose to receive the resurrection and life while they were here. It doesn’t make grieving easier but it makes going forward capable.
This has stirred a new urgency within me to be more diligent in sharing the gospel. The book of Acts says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We just need to share that name!
““Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” -Matthew 7:7 NIV
My son is a professional asker. He has no hesitation when asking to go somewhere, do something or buy something. And if the answer is no, he will wear you down slowly but sweetly! Eventually, he usually gets what he wants (within reason).
Many people think this scripture is about money and material things. We can ask God for ANYTHING! Need peace? Ask, seek and knock. What about joy? Ask, seek and knock. How about focus to get a few things finished? Ask, seek and knock.
God is concerned about we are concerned about. I bet he wished we would come to him with everything. Not just big, insurmountable problems but even things as small as a headache.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 NIV
As a planner, I believe God looked through the channels of the future, saw people like me and made sure this verse was put in the Bible! But I’m learning that I’d rather have God’s purpose lead and guide me than my own plan.
We can’t see what’s down the road but God can. I truly believe there have been accidents I didn’t get into and encounters I didn’t have because God’s purpose prevailed. He is ALWAYS thinking about what’s in our best interest and sometimes that is not found on our to-do list.
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” James 1:19 NIV
It’s easy to believe some lies we tell ourselves. “I’ve always had a short fuse”; “I just tell it like it is, good or bad”; “I just run off at the mouth!”.
But James says that EVERYONE should shut their mouth, make listening a priority, and calm down. Well, he didn’t say it exactly like that.
How many times have your words put you in a situation you didn’t care to be in. Hurt feelings, unintended commitments, just being wrong! If we can pause and give our brains and hearts a minute to process, maybe we can respond more kindly and even more appropriately in different situations.
If I can quote another great thinker, “You can’t learn anything when you’re talking. That’s a fact of life. As long as you’re talking, you’re not listening.” Ok, it’s just Rocky Balboa from “Creed” but it’s still true! Faith in Films! Coming soon 😉
As I write this blog, I have a busy few days coming. Well, really a busy few weeks. I promise this is not a humble brag or me trying to flex a busy schedule on you, but in the next 3 weeks, I have my son’s 10th birthday, my mom flying into town, homeschool, gymnastics, blogging, podcasting, extracurriculars, my last weeks of marathon training and then running that marathon.
I don’t like busy. I don’t like a full calendar. I like lighting candles and sipping coffee. I like adult coloring and crossword puzzles. I like sitting in a blanket on my couch watching Bluey with my kids or without them. Bluey is a really great show!
I don’t like being busy because I feel like I have to choose between what I have to do and what I want to do. I have to choose what gets done and what doesn’t.
One thing that I am choosing every day is peace. I used to get really worked up when I had a busy season. I’d make lists of lists to make lists and cross out things on lists and tear up lists to make newer prettier ones. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a list! But it no longer stresses me out.
Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Every morning, I focus my mind on Christ and receive the peace of God. What does this look like for me? It’s pretty basic. Instead of worrying about the laundry that I have done, I played restaurant with my kids. Instead of trying to run a billion errands for my son’s sleepover, I asked my husband to help out. Instead of rushing through my kid’s school lesson, we went to the library and got done what we could.
I know some situations in life are thrown at us without us asking for them, but even in those instances, we can choose peace. We can make the decision before hand that we will not be overwhelmed by stress or anxiety, but be overwhelmed by the peace of God.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 NIV
We often adjust to dysfunction so gradually that we no longer recognize it. Just as God brought light before He brought order, we need His light to reveal the areas of our lives that need clarity and change.
One of the most quoted verses in the entire book of Philippians is found near the very end. “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) It’s one of those verses we love to encourage people with. Someone loses a job. Someone is struggling…
Jasmine Lozano 