Daily Devotional
You Are in a Race
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1
August 23, 2022
Ponder This
One of these days we’re going to cross the finish line. In fifty years, many of us will not be alive; even after twenty-five years a great number will be gone; and even next year, by God’s mercies, some will have already gone on. We will have come to the end of the line. We don’t know when that’s going to be.
You may be a teen, but you might be at the very end of your course. One of these days, I’m going to breathe my last breath, but I’m not going to stop running—God helping me—until I do. I don’t want to stroll over the finish line. I want to hit the finish line with a blaze of energy and power, going for the Lord Jesus Christ. You may say, “Well, you’ll be an old coot.” It makes no difference. “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). That’s the reason you ought to be an athlete—no matter what your physical condition or your economic condition. You are in a race, and that race is not over until you bow your head like the Lord Jesus and say, “It is finished. It is done.” Don’t give up before you get there.
- How do passages like this one help give perspective to everyday life?
- Where are you tempted to stop running the race God has given you?
Practice This
Take time in prayer today to renew your commitment to running the race God has set before you. Ask Him to empower you with the strength to endure to the end.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
