Running

Running does not come naturally to me.

I don't like it.

Five years ago I decided that I wanted to be a runner or at least a person who is capable of running.

At the time I could not run a half mile. Very truly could not.

I had heard of people that just "start running" and never look back, so I tried that.

I failed and injured myself.

I went back to the belief that I was just not a runner. I almost completely gave up on the whole thing because I was choosing to believe a lie that I was incapable.

This weekend at IF:Gathering, this was spoken over us by Bianca Olthoff

So today we will give no place to fear or failure. We will not accept the trace of apathy in our attitude or actions. We will reject complacency and embrace the greatness in us. We will waste no opportunity to glorify God and maximize every opportunity entrusted to us.

We will run.

The race we are in isn’t against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual enemy who opposes us, so we will stand at the starting line and face my enemy with bold determination.

We will dismantle every argument and pretension that he present which contradicts what God has spoke. Our enemy fights against us because he fears us and every time he reminds us of our past, we will remind him of his future. Every time we speak the truth, every stronghold must surrender.

We will run.

So we—as passionate and committed runners—we will make no excuses but through every obstacle, we will find a way.

We will not procrastinate our progress.
We will not defer our destiny.
We will not waver when we are weak.
Then enemy has come to kill, steal, and destroy in my life, and even if we lose the sprint we WILL win the marathon because we are more than conquers in Him who loves us.

So me—personally—I will reject the lies that echo in my mind telling me I don’t have what it takes, that I cannot survive this trial, that my best is behind me, or that humiliation awaits me. The Devil is a LIAR and my God always causes me to triumph through Jesus Christ my Lord.

I will run.

Unashamed to represent a kingdom that is unshakable, no one will be able to stand against God’s plan for us all the days of our lives. With our God we will run every race, we will persevere and not give up.

Though our enemy surrounds us, our God surround our enemies.
Though they may come at us ONE way, they will flee SEVEN ways because no weapon formed against us will prosper and every evil thing that rises against us, we will condemn.

We will run.

Can we please determine to build our life on the solid foundation of God’s perfect word?! By faith we will activate every promise he has made and we will aim these promises as weapons of mass destruction, obliterating every opponent. The weapon God has given us has divine power. We defy and defeat sin because of the finished work of Christ our Savior.

We are whole-heartedly devoted to the purpose and calling God made for us and we have no intention of letting the world define us because we know who we are:
Humble fighters, dedicated runners, and strong and mighty servants of the living God.

In Christ we are courageous.
In Christ we are confident.
Our heart is steadfast.
Our purpose is immovable.
We are always abounding in the work of the Lord.
And our potential is unlimited because the limitless God lives within us.

We will run.

The cross before us, the world is behind us.
We’ll never turn back.
We’ll never give up.
We’ll never settle.
We’ll never stop short.
We will press towards the mark for the prize that is already ours.

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation shall be able to separate us from our God.

And if our God is for us, who in HELL can be against us?

We will run.

How's that for a little motivation?

We can choose to believe that the God that has made us will sustain us in this race. 

We can do this.

Let's run.