By Megan Blansit
Director of The Beautiful Movement - a youth ministry for high school girls. For more information, visit The Beautiful Movement’s Facebook page, where I post the time, place, and activity for each month
I want to share a quick story with you. I was going for a morning run one really hot day, and started out very excited and determined. Not only was I excited about the run but I was also anticipating a great reward- a (eventually) tone body. BUT, in the middle of my run, I found myself entirely give out and wanted to quit. My friend, who was running behind me, caught up and then became an encouragement. She said that even though we both wanted to quit (& get a milkshake), we had to finish. Besides, our car was at least a mile away! As I agreed to keep going, the run became easier. Why? Because at this point I was focusing on the end goal, (a tone body and an air conditioned car) and this actually made me run faster.
Looking back at this small experience, God brought something to my attention. I began to realize how this relates to Christ. As Christians, we start out with such excitement about serving the Lord and experiencing His goodness, but once we get traveling down this path, we sometimes find ourselves wanting to give up. Things become tough, temptations become real, there seems to be more opportunities to sin, friends have disappeared, and the list could go on and on! Maybe you feel so give out and often feel forgotten, as if God isn’t there with you and that there is no finish line to receive the reward at the end. Maybe you’re past the contemplations and have actually quit this “race.” … your Christian walk may be completely dehydrated. I would beg of you to please give Christ one more chance. Today can be the day to pick up and start your relationship with Christ again; He is worth pursuing. Friend, as many times as we may have quit and turned our back on him, he has never stopped loving us. I’ve had my own times of wanting to quit, feeling abandoned by God, and one time He spoke straight to my heart and said, “I’m right where you left me.” In that moment, I realized He never left me, I chose to leave him. Friends, he ALWAYS wants us. Christ is so cool, He sees past our sins and our problems and sees us worthy of loving. Romans 8:38 says, “…nothing can separate us from the love of God.”
I also see how vital my friend’s encouragement was on that VERY HOT, summer morning. This parallels with our Christian walk. It is of utmost importance that we as Christians have Christ-centered relationships. Having a friend who you can call when you’re discouraged in your faith can be a huge asset. It is by no accident that the Bible says in Hebrews 10:25, “So let’s do it-full of belief, confident that we are presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshipping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.” (MSG version.) It is dangerous to think we can walk this Christian life alone. I encourage all of you, friends, to get plugged into a church and partake in corporate worship. There’s something powerful when Christians come together and worship our King. I challenge you to surround yourselves with other people striving to finish this race. Quitting was not an option for me that day, and some of you need to remind yourself that quitting isn’t an option for you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss my reward by quitting in the middle.
Galations 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Paul says in Phillipians 3:13-14, “I forget what is behind me and strain toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Phillipians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Some of you may be in a tough spot in your journey right now, but I want you to know that God has an awesome plan for your life, and just like I said last week, there is purpose beyond the pain. For whatever situation you are facing right now, be encouraged, friend, because YOU CAN FINISH THIS RACE.
