Sooner or Later Everyone Runs Out of Time

He leads me …

Someday we will be the silent guest at our own funeral. There are likely to be relatives and friends present to mourn for us who we have not seen in years. Then after the preacher delivers a message in our memory, we will either be cremated or be taken to the graveyard, given a final farewell and buried.

Eventually, everyone’s life will come to an end. Paul states that we all face death and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The only time that we can decide whether or not our life has been a blessing is now while we are alive. Now is the time to do the Lord's work. As the bible says, ‘Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NLT).

The apostle Paul says that real spiritual growth requires the same discipline necessary to that of an athlete’s preparation to get the award for winning their sports event. Growing to be like Christ does not just happen all by itself. ‘For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.’ (Philippians 2:13 Phillips), The believer should also work in with God by being persistent in achieving what the Holy Spirit teaches and leads. For the true believer, we are going for ‘[our] reward, the honour of being called by God in Christ.’(Philippians 3:14, Phillips). But what is the believer’s call? It is essentially to become like Jesus Christ and enjoy a relationship with Him (Romans 8:28–30).

As believer’s we each run our own race (1 Corinthians 9:24), and each of us is supported by the Lord to be a winner. But Paul’s appeal to us, is that we are to ‘run in such a way as to get the prize.’ To do this we are to have nothing to do with anything that might stop us from living or teaching the gospel of Christ. The writer of Hebrews echoes the words of Paul: saying, ‘let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.’ (Hebrews 12:1 TLB). Hebrews continues by telling us to, ‘keep our eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. (Hebrews 12:2 TLB).[1]

  Some folk reading this will be thinking that they do not have a calling. This is not true. We do not have to have a special title or have a special responsibility with a church or organisation to be called by God. As we have just seen, a call is essentially to become like Jesus Christ and enjoy a relationship with Him. When we follow what the Lord teaches and leads, He uses us, as we are, to minister to others for Him. We find that when we speak out the words He has given us to say, interesting things happen. We might be confirming what someone else said a couple of weeks ago. Or, we might be confirming a course of action that the person should be taking. Or, we might be giving them the encouragement that they need at a difficult time.

On other occasions it will be our actions. We may feel strongly that someone needs ta food parcel, and when we deliver it we find that they have been going through financial hardship. Or, we may have a burden to visit the elderly in an old folk’s home, and find that some of the residents have not had a visitor for several weeks. Or we have a strong desire to send some local magazines to some overseas missionaries who were part of the same community as us before they went overseas. We then find out that they read the magazines from cover to cover – including the advertising – because they enjoyed so much getting some news from ‘home’.

There will be another group of Christians reading this who will be thinking that what has been said is fine for those who have good health, and the means to do these things, but what can a person with a disability do when they have so much to overcome on a daily basis? In this case it is not just a case of ‘keeping our eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor’, but adjusting our thinking as well.

Anyone who has learnt to forgive those who have wronged them knows that the person who will gain the most is usually the person who forgives. Then they find that they are not bearing a grudge and being negative. It is as if the Lord has lifted those things off their shoulders.

The same thing applies to those with disabilities of any kind. As hard as it looks, it is their choice whether they let their situation wear them down, or they look at ways to change this. They also should think seriously about their response to the Lord. Have they basically given up because God has not healed them?

We know that Jesus did not heal everyone. We see in the account in John 5:1 -9 that Jesus went to the Pool of Bethesda and healed one man who had been there for 38 years waiting to get into the pool when the angels stirred the water. What happened to the others waiting to be healed as well?

If life is not working out the way we expected or wanted do we give up on God? No way! He has not given up on us.

He gives strength to the weary,

And to him who has no might He increases power.

Even youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]

Will gain new strength and renew their power;

They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];

They will run and not become weary,

They will walk and not grow tired. (Isaiah 40:29-31 AMP)

So the Lord God says, “See, I lay in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth to build upon, a tested Stone [Jesus]. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be afraid of what will happen. (Isaiah 28:16 NLV)

The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],

I shall not want.

He lets me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.

He refreshes and restores my soul (life);

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me. (Psalm 23:1-4 AMP)

May we be diligent in our “race,” may we keep our eyes on the goal, and may we, like Paul, finish strong.

[1] What did Paul mean when he said he had finished the race? Got Questions Ministries;

https://www.gotquestions.org/finished-the-race.html