Going Beyond the Distance

I have always been fairly active. Growing up I was either in a dance class, on a cheerleading squad, playing on a tennis court, or out water skiing or swimming. This year I learned to scuba dive. Running was never my 1st choice of exercise but as I aged it became my go to exercise of torture….or choice! Recently I have found myself doing a combo of power walking and jogging as I push a baby exercise stroller with my grandbaby in tow. Knowing that I will be sitting in front of a computer screen for many hours later in the day motivates me to get up and get going, but it’s always a battle to push myself. Once I am out of the house and pounding the pavement I love it, and I am not one to keep something plugged into my ears. I find the discipline of listening to my inner-self important and have found that God speaks to me in the midst of my sweat and silence with some interesting thoughts. Since I live in a hillside area, the road tends to go up and down so I usually have to power walk up and then jog down the backside. As I get winded, I focus on certain landmarks that I tell myself I will jog to and then walk again. Lately, I have found myself seeing those landmarks and then seeing beyond them and telling myself to go on – to pass my original mark and press forward to the one down the road a bit farther. Is God calling you to push past your own expectations and goals and press past the pain? I believe that goals should always be a moving target and that goals should only be road signs and markers along our paths in life. The only goal is the upward call of God. We are to see the mark, but to press on past it. Paul tells us in Philippians 3: 13-14 NAS, Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Getting up from a deep sleep and moving past your comfort zone is never easy, but once you get going God’s going to reveal things to you and allow you to reach beyond your original vision and mission as never before. As you begin the New Year, keep your eyes focused upward and beyond, and your heart and ears open to Master’s quiet whisper. What has God been speaking to you about recently? Strap on those shoes, run for the goal, and then see how Gods going to take you beyond it.