Clinging to God

Genesis 32: 24-26

So Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the Man saw that He

could not overpower him, He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched

as he wrestled with the Man. Then the Man said, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Every runner has needs, and as believers, we take those needs to God. When we have injuries, we pray for healing and patience. When we have defeats, we ask God for comfort and perseverance. Prior to workouts and races we ask God for strength and safety.

Sometimes when we pray, we are given what we ask for almost instantly. Other times, we must wait. And sometimes, while we wait, we stop asking. But why do we stop? Is it because we are at perfect peace with the situation? Or do we stop asking because we start having doubts. Maybe we doubt God’s love, His interest, or His willingness to give.

When Jacob was on his way to meet his brother, he, too, had needs. He had betrayed his brother years earlier and worried about seeing him again. Jacob prayed, confessing his unworthiness but also recalling God’s faithfulness and promises to him.

The next night, Jacob found himself wrestling with God. As the night went on, Jacob did not give up. He told God he would not let Him go until He blessed him. Years earlier, Jacob had obtained a blessing through trickery and deceit. But now he single-heartedly clung to God for a blessing. Even after injury, he did not give up. He knew God was the only source for help.

While we wait for God’s answer and while we “wrestle” with Him, what do we do? Jacob, in this situation, clung to God’s goodness, His ability, His promises, and nothing else. He did not give up and look to other people or things to bless him. He knew the only good and perfect blessing came from God.

So often I fail to do this. I give up the wrestling match and turn instead to other means of comfort, strength, and blessing. I turn to things that have no power, but I ascribe power to them. They seem satisfying for a short time but always fail me. And even when I’m inspired by Jacob’s example, I forget that Jacob wasn’t acting on his own power but rather God’s power in him. He could not have conjured up the strength to persist in a wrestling match on his own. God gave him that determination so that He in turn could be glorified.

Let’s turn to God and ask for the blessings we need to glorify Him. Let’s ask for the faithfulness to persist and the single-heartedness to cling to God and to look nowhere else for the blessing.

Lord God, You are the perfect giver of all my needs. You are the true source of the blessings in my life. Please give me what I need today to glorify you. Let me persist in seeking Your blessing and look for contentment in nothing else. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

Strengthening the Core

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Runners, I’m guessing that you have been told that in order to improve your running and prevent injury, you must work on your core. Strength training on the core of your body – your abs, glutes, and lower back – has been proven to increase your stability, power, endurance, and efficient form throughout a race. But often we don’t listen to core training advice until injury occurs. Even then, we may work on it for a little while but as soon as we are fit, core training takes a back seat to running. Each of us has time constraints and when pressed, mileage takes priority over all else.

Do the running experts tell us to strengthen the core to make us feel guilty? Do they want us to see this area of our running as an obligatory, dreadful time that we have to do? No, they call us to devote time to this area of training because it is beneficial and sustaining. They know it is critical to our success and they want to help us achieve our goals.

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I neglect my spiritual core as often as I neglect my physical core. Pressed for time, I choose to run through the events of my day and skip spending time with God. I do not set aside the time to pray, read the Bible, and meditate on His goodness.

So how does that work out for me? I may get by for a little while, thinking that everything is working out just fine. But then I lose my endurance. I cannot keep an efficient form. I become injured.

When God calls us to focus on our spiritual core, He isn’t trying to guilt us into spending time with Him. He calls us because He knows it sustains us. He loves us and knows this relationship is more important than anything else in our lives.

So how do we work on our spiritual core? The author of today’s Bible verse tells us to throw off the sin that entangles and everything else that hinders. He tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, for He creates and perfects faith within us. We are called to devote time in our day to Him: reading His word, confessing our sins, rejoicing in His forgiveness, and praising Him. Through nothing else will we be sustained. Let’s pray for His help in doing all this.

Thank you, Father, that you sustain us. You give us power, stability, and endurance to do all that You have called us to do. Help us to turn to You for the strength we need. Thank You that You offer it so abundantly and freely. Show us that we can only get it from You. In Jesus’ name we pray, AMEN.

Praying for Freedom

Psalm 142:7a

Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.

My favorite type of run is the long, easy run. It is meditative to me, and I find it easy to see God’s glory in the area around me. It is effortless to worship God on a run like that.

When I am running my hardest, though, I do not find it as easy to praise God. If I am really struggling, I may not think of Him at all except to plea to Him for help.

Being in such a desperate physical state is like being temporarily imprisoned. There is no freedom until the run is over. But even the hardest workout or race eventually comes to an end and then the relief and rejoicing begin.  

Some prisons, though, do not come with quick relief. These are the mental, emotional, and spiritual prisons. It’s when a giant problem looms with no end in sight, no solution that seems possible. Since I had back surgery in December, I often feel this way. I have lingering back pain and I find myself struggling with worry: I worry that I won’t be able to run again. I worry that I will spend my life in pain.

Struggling in this way certainly does not feel temporary when I am in it.  And filling my time with worry and doubt takes the place of worshipping God. So what can I do if I feel imprisoned? How can I possibly escape my sentence of fear, doubt, worry, and despair, and turn instead to praising God?

David, the author of today’s Bible verse, leads us with his example. When he wrote this psalm, he was in desperate need as people pursued him to take his life. But David was completely honest in his plea. He knew he was incapable of praising the God without His help. And yet he knew that praising God would be a comfort to him. Thus, he asked God to set him free from his prison so that he could praise Him. He prayed that God would open his heart, despite his circumstances. God heard David and answered his prayer.  

God knows us and our situations, and He hears our prayers just as He heard David’s. God is amazingly willing and sufficiently able to free us from our prisons. What imprisons you today? Let’s pray that God will turn set us free and set our hearts to praising Him.

Father, I am in a place of inescapable trouble. I see no way out and no chance for hope. My prison prohibits me from praising You and Your holy name. Lord God, You are infinitely bigger than the problem that enslaves me. Please free me from my prison, that I may praise Your name. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

Living for Glory

Philippians 2:5-7

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

What do you do with the awards you have from races? Over the years I have earned a few and have kept every one. I have ribbons from high school track, a varsity letter, and medals and trophies from local road races. I have some in boxes and some on display.

Recently I read that some trophy shops request donations of old medals and trophies. They polish them, re-engrave them, and send them off to non-profit organizations that greatly need them for children or special-needs individuals.  When I read that I could donate my old awards, I considered giving some or all of them away. And yet, I didn’t.

I am ashamed to admit that I find it hard to part with the awards that recognize the achievements I fought so hard to attain. Even a paper certificate that I once received for winning my age group in a 5K is carefully tucked inside my scrapbook. My medals and trophies not only identify me as a winner but remind me of the glory that comes with winning.

How much different was Christ’s attitude, though, about His glory? Did Christ cling to it and to Heaven instead of coming to Earth to love and save His people? No, the Bible tells us that he humbly, lovingly, obediently set aside all the glory and honor of Heaven to come and do His Father’s will. He gave up infinitely more than a medal or ribbon. He gave up the comfort of a perfect, holy home and the unending praise of angels. And He gave it up to come love and forgive me, the one who cannot cast her eyes away from the medals hanging on the wall.

The writer of today’s text tells us that our attitude should be not just more like that of Christ but the same as that of Christ. I know that my heart is far from what Christ has called it to be. Yet, I’m not commanded to change my heart on my own; rather, my loving Father is present, willing, and able to change it for me through His power.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Christ’s example and for commanding that my life and attitude be the same as His. Lord, you know that this command is impossible for me to follow on my own. Thank you, though, that You can change my Heart. Help me to submit joyfully to that which You have called me, just as Christ did. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

Running in the Sun

Numbers 6:24-26

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Spring is here and warmer weather is coming. When we run in the warm weather, we wear clothing that exposes our skin to the sun. In the winter months, though, we are forced to cover up or take our runs indoors on the treadmill. Because of our lack of exposure to the sun, we have less Vitamin D in our systems.

Researchers have known for years that Vitamin D is critical to our good health. They have also known that our bodies produce Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. I find that amazing: just being exposed to the sun causes a change within us. We don’t tell our bodies to create the change, and we don’t have to understand how it happens. We don’t have to do anything to earn sunshine; we aren’t offered it and then have to accept it. We just go outside and it is there. We receive the benefit because the sun shines upon us.

In Numbers 6, the Lord gives Moses words to bless His people. In these words, He tells the people that it is a blessing to have His face shine upon them. The Lord is gracious and powerful beyond our understanding – simply having His face shine upon us transforms us! Exposure to Him through His Son creates a change within us. It is not a change we can generate on our own. We do not have to do anything to earn it. It does not happen because we ask for it or accept it – it is given to us as a free gift because our Father loves us.

But just as our bodies in the winter aren’t exposed to the sun, we might be spiritually covered up and missing out on our exposure to the Son. I know that there are times in my life that I take myself out of exposure. Sometimes I think I am too busy to devote time to Him. At other times I let my doubt or lack of trust get in the way of spending time with Him.

We all need the sun for Vitamin D to afford us good health. But even more, we need God to shine His face upon us and be gracious to us. He is abundantly willing to give us His blessings. Let’s bask in that love.  

Lord, I know that simply being in Your gracious presence is a blessing. Thank You for sending Jesus to draw me to You. Draw me to You each day and do not let me be satisfied with anything less. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.