When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 NIV
After the trial.
After the judgment.
After the sentencing.
After the shame.
After the pain.
After the spiritual separation.
After the spiritual pain.
Before His final breath.
“It is finished.”
My sin paid for.
My debt paid.
My forgiveness, offered.
My redemption, complete.
My relationship with God, possible.
Before you ever began, He finished it.
The road to success is dotted with many parking places.
Parking places are meant to be a temporary place to stop, not a final destination – you do what you need to do and then get back on the road.
Friend, you are on a life journey with Jesus. Don’t get stuck at a rest stop. Don’t start living at the gas station. Don’t let a parking place become a permanent place.
Get moving.
Remember the reason you were called to this journey in the first place – Jesus has a plan for you.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Don’t get distracted.
Don’t settle.
Jesus has new places for you see, new people to meet and new opportunities to glorify God.
Rest stops are important but aren’t meant to be permanent.
Get back on your road.
What has gotten you off track on your journey with Jesus? What do you need to do today to get back on the road for the calling God has placed on your life?
Get Moving.
Someone out there needs you.
There are seasons of life that you are where you are supposed to be and doing what you are supposed to be doing. You are “in” season. You are inspired, motivated and moving forward.
Then there are seasons when you feel downright out of it. You are not where you want to be and not doing what you think you should be doing. You are in an “out” season. You are discouraged, unmotivated and stuck.
God will use you in both.
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”
2 Timothy 4:2 NIV
In fact, it is often the seasons that knock you to your knees that impact other people the most:
Be prepared to walk with God in the good times and bad, easy seasons and hard ones because God is prepared to walk with you through it all.
If you are available, He will use you to minister to those around you.
God’s love is always in season, may you be filled with it today.
The longer you follow Jesus, the more you realize you need Him.
My college pastor said it was like this, “The closer you get to bright light, the more you see the flaws you have”.
It was good to know that the closer I get to God, the more I will see my imperfections and know more intimately my own flaws.
It was good for me to hear early on that in my walk with God that I would never get to a point of “being an expert ” or “being perfect”.
Your life with God is a journey.
It isn’t a skill to excel in, it is a relationship to have.
Through the good times and bad times, the easy times and the hard times.
Through ALL the times.
“Brother and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”
Philippians 3:13 NIV
We tend to focus on all the things we are not, all the things we haven’t conquered, all the things we haven’t grown in.
All those things take your focus from God and put it on yourself.
So, forget it.
Forget it all.
God didn’t choose you because someday you would be perfect. He chose you because He loves you and He is perfect enough for the both of you.
Forget what is behind you even if it happened five minutes ago.
Love God for who He is and let Him love you for who you are: His kid.
I wanted to remind you that today hasn’t happened yet.
It is a day yet to be lived.
It is a page in your story that is unwritten.
Just because your story has been going one way up until today, doesn’t mean it has to continue that way.
Just because you made a bad decision yesterday, doesn’t mean you have to make one today…or tomorrow.
Just because you are in a habit that is unhealthy yesterday, doesn’t mean you have to repeat it today.
You have the freedom of choice and you have the power to change.
Today is unwritten.
God has a plan.
You have the pen.
“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”
Philippians 4:13 MSG
“For He, God, Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down or relax My hold on you! Assuredly not!” Hebrews 13:5 Amplified Version
Jesus is bigger than your situation.
He will not leave you without support.
He will not leave you helpless.
He will not relax His hold on you.
He will make a way where there seems to be no way.
I am praying for you today.
“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is often called the “Hall of Faith”. It tells the stories of those who served God with great passion and unflinching faithfulness through the toughest of times. They suffered, risked, obeyed and trusted God to do what only He can do.
This verse says that their lives, their testimonies of how to trust God are like having a great grandstand of faith leaders cheering you on as you follow Jesus. What are they telling you? They are telling you to throw off everything that hinders and run the race God has called you to run.
Not your mom’s race or your neighbor’s faith race but your faith race.
They are telling you to keep focused on the finish line and lay down whatever is weighing you down from getting there: other people’s opinions, irrational fears, fear-laden doubts, time-wasting worries.
They know that a life of faith isn’t easy.
And that the only way you can do it is by keeping your eyes on Jesus.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, my friend, take a deep breath and run your race.
