Dear Heavenly Father,
Holy is Your name. We pray that Your Kingdom will overtake the earth, and that Your Will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank You for calling each of us according to Your divine purpose. I’ve heard it said that a runner must always keep his or her eyes on the prize, and never look back at their opponent. In the time and energy that it takes to simply look back, the race can be lost. Your Word states it best in Galatians 6:4-5(NLT). It tells us, “4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” When we stand before You on judgment day, we must give an account for all the actions we’ve committed in this life. We will not be able to single out what others have done, whether they did a good or poor job with the life You gave them. On judgment day, our own work will speak for us. You will judge if we ran in faith and completed the race You have specifically set for our individual lives.
Many of us have a habit of comparing ourselves to others. We spend way too much time looking at their races, and we don’t spend nearly enough time paying attention to our own. Ephesians 1:5(NLT) tells us, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Long before we entered our mother’s wombs, You had a plan for our lives. You decided even before the foundation of the world to adopt us into Your family through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We make the mistake of underestimating both the blessing and the responsibility of this call.
You have given us a purpose, and You have stamped this purpose within our DNA. Through the Apostle Paul, You tell us in 1Corinthians 9:26 not to run this race aimlessly, like a boxer beating air. We must run the race of life knowing that You have called and qualified us to get something done for Your Kingdom. Instead of seeking Your wisdom and counsel about what You require us to do, many allow the devil to distract them with what others are doing. Some of us begin to complain to You and say, “Why do they have more than I do when I’m more faithful than they are? Why are they doing better than me?” Everyone’s journey is different. We are not capable of setting our own races. You have done this, and You require that we trust You and keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
Sometimes, we get down on ourselves because we feel we should have accomplished more. We compare ourselves to the intellect, ambition, talent, or attractiveness of other people. What can come of such comparison? What can others do for us or us for them by doing this? Psalm 75:6 affirms that promotion doesn’t come from the east, west, or south. Promotion and elevation comes from You. You decide when it is our appointed time to be lifted up.
You want us to run our races so that we can receive the rewards You have in store for our individual lives. Galatians 6:9(NLT) encourages us, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Like a skilled athlete, our job is to continually build momentum, to keep running our races by staying in Your Word so we can be built up in the faith. We can’t gain stamina and momentum by following the world’s program. This approach only offers a harvest of decay and death. We must do things that please and honor You. We must share Your Word with others, be an encouragement to them, and pray for everyone. Doing good deeds of love and holiness will cause us to reap a harvest of Your goodness.
Thank You for providing us with everything we need to live a more than abundant life through Jesus Christ. Thank You for helping us to run our races with endurance, looking continually at the example of our Lord and Savior. He won the victory for us and because of him, we are more than overcomers. You hold each of us accountable for what we do. We are responsible for our own conduct, and we must be committed to pay attention to our own work, so that on judgement day, You will be well satisfied with the job we’ve done. Thank You for our precious and powerful Lord and Savior. Thank You for the extraordinary gift of Holy Spirit and thank You for all Your many blessings. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Run YOUR Race!”, written by K. Lizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.