I just turned 30. I am totally fine with being 30, age doesn't really get me down. It has caused me to reflect a lot on my life though. I have made a lot of recent changes. I started eating right and have lost over 20lbs. I have been a lot more active and have worked out more than I have in years. I still need to be a little more consistent, but all in all I've done okay. These changes have been good. I feel good and losing 20lbs has been great. These physical changes were needed. Honestly though the physical changes haven't been that challenging, it's the spiritual changes that are really leaving me sore and beat up.
I feel as if God has been laying a lot on my heart lately. In examining what I feel is on my heart and the desire of my heart, I have learned a lot about myself. Some of the things I have learned about myself I really like and of course there are a lot of other areas in my life that I don't like. This is the same for everyone I expect. The Bible is clear though that we should examine ourselves. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith." Examining ourselves is a crucial part of our walk. How else can we see our faults and push forward to be better?
In Hebrews 12:1 the author says, "...let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Run with endurance, what does this mean? To endure means to last or withstand through wear and tear. As we know through life there is a lot of wear and tear. Life is a journey and we never know what is around the next turn. I see life and our spiritual walks like running a marathon. A marathon is long and hard. The runner must stay mental and physically focused. The runner must endure and stay steady. A marathon runner doesn't sprint out of the gate recklessly they stay steady and focused. I have found that many Christians, myself included, don't preform in our spiritual walks like a marathon runner, but we like a sprinter. We run spiritual wind sprints. We run as hard as we can and hit a finish line. We stop. Who knows how long we stop for. Then we at some point get geared up again and want to run with God and we shoot out of the gate as fast as we can. We do a 40 yard dash and we stop. Again.
Our spiritual walk is a marathon. I am learning how to be more patient, stay focused and steady myself. The marathon could feel long and it isn't easy. However, if I steady myself and keep my eyes on the prize, come what may I will win. We will win. We win.
