Being in our lane

The Lord has been speaking to me about something I think He has been bringing to my attention. I pray that the words will come and that it will make some sense to ya'll.

It has come to my attention that there are alot of christians out there that are very burdened. Hang in here with me....just because we are christians we are still going to have burdens...lows, problems, discomfort, disappointments, etc. But what my heart has been sensitive to is alot of people think that there is some kind of finish line that they are suppose to have crossed because they have made that step to bring Christ into their hearts. Becoming a christian, being one for one year, ten years or fifty years means we are still on the journey...the finish line is not in this world, it is after we are gone from here and meet our Father in heaven. This world is the running of the event and not until we reach the arms of our beloved are we done.

Let me explain a little further....I keep hearing people comparing themselves to others and not just acting but talking and apologizing for where they are in their christian walk. I have overheard many conversations lately where the words spoken were "You are such a good christian....wow, i'm still struggling with everything...I don't have a very good prayer time, I don't know how to listen for the Lord, I don't know many scriptures by heart, my faith is not as strong as yours, and everybody's gotten it except me!" Is this Satan attacking these christians to keep them from feeling and embracing God's love for them...is it our clergy's teaching from the pulpit that somehow they are giving the message that there is a finish line here on earth and some of us have crosssed over it.....is it that there are so many christians that can't feel God's love for them that they are constantly condeming themselves...or is it a lack of really understanding what "being a christian" means?

Being a christian means that you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, that you understand that Jesus died for our sin (past, present, future) and that you know that through faith you will have eternal life because of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. Does this say anything about being in a certain place in your life at a certain time? Does it say that knowing God as your Father, Christ as your Saviour and the Holy Spirit as your guide mean that we are all the same, like some christian Stepford Wives? No, being a christian means that we believe in the sacrifice, resurrection and gift of the Holy Trinity but here on earth, each and everyone of us has a different lane to run our race in. God gives us that lane, expects us to run the race with everything we have, but He is the coach and his methods are different for each one of us. Imagine it in these terms....you can't take the bobsled team from the Virigin Islands and expect their coaching and training to be the same as the bobsled team from the Swiss Alps. Because of where they are from, the age of the teammates, the phyical qualities of each and the expertise of the coach the workout will be somewhat different. One team is starting from scratch...they do not have cold temperatures little less ice and snow...the other team, their enviroment is cold and snow, is probably very well versed in snow sports which gives the coaches a different starting point and a different workout plan (watch the movie, it is great).

It is the same with us as people...everyone, even people within the same family, start out their marathon to heaven in different places. Our backgrounds, our upbringing, our bumps and bruises along the way, our life experiences they all play into how we run the race and where we are at any given moment in our lanes. The diffence in this race is that we are all equal in worthiness to our coach. We all have been invited to run the race and we all have the same coach, and that coach knows us deeply and intimately. He puts us in our lanes, decides on the workouts, and begins the drills. We do have a responsibility....we are to take up the invitation to the event, get in our lane, give the race our best, listen and follow what our coach asks of us.

So, to all of you out there who think that you are somehow behind the pack and that that means you can't finish the race, or that some have a better coach or workout than you, or that your best is somehow not good enough even though you are in your lane following and participating in your workouts and coaches instructions......run to the arms of our coach for a pep talk. You are where you are suppose to be, working with all your hearts, and you have the best coach in the universe and beyond working with you.