My eye is on the prize:)


 
   
  Monday, Monday....oh the aches and pains, the weary minds, the curse of the dreaded Monday....question??? If we did not have Monday, how would we get to our desired destination...the weekend???? There is a "vehicle" to every destination, there is a road that leads to every ending place, there are hurdles, some really high hurdles,we must jump to get were we want to be, brick walls, mountains, pot holes, but we must keep our eyes on the prize, are we willing to face the woes of the journey to "make it"???
     There is a prize at the end of all things we face in life, even death is a prize. When God sends our spirit here to gain an earthly body, he does it with the knowledge that this perfect, unscarred, whole, Christian, spirit will face adversity in every turn once they are delivered. He has written our book of life, is satisfied that our spirit is ready to make the earthly journey and hopeful that our spirit will be strong enough to battle the evil doings of satan. Some might say that he "sets us up for failure" as evil walks the earth, is around every corner, is lurking just one step away waiting for us to join his hands. God has to see how we will honor him, he has to know that we are strong enough to cling to his word and his promises. He has to see if we are weak, one of my favorite expressions is " God don't want junk" He has to know that the lessons we learned in the spirit world were strong enough to carry us through the evil world. He has made it pretty easy to get through the high tides, the slippery mountains, the solid brick walls, the waist high hurdles... he has provided us a way to have "do overs" and "second chances"....through his sacrifice of our brother, Jesus Christ. He has made it virtually impossible to fail, yet we continue to, we time and again choose to venture down the wrong path. I have traveled some dark, mold infested, thorn ridden, smelly paths...I have been there...done that, drinking, drugs, sex, lies, attempted suicide, given completely up, don't give a dang about anything. You name it and I have done it, am I ashamed??? YES, am I continuing to wallow in the pits of hell???NO. In the last and final hours of what I thought were my destiny, I fell on my knees and gave it all over to God, I raised my hands to the Lord and completely gave it all to him. It took many years for me to "get it" and still I fall short and have to fall on my knees each day, I continue to think some days that it would just be easier to follow satan, his way looks simple, his way looks pain free, his way looks "fun" his way is very enticing...God's way seems very difficult at times, his way means, "cramming for the test to make the grade" his way means laboring with intense pain to win the prize, his way means living in a way that is chastised by many, with name calling, with stone throwing, with having to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward. I made a decision years ago to face the evils in my life and to cast them out, I made the decision that no matter how difficult my trials are here, that I would stand firm and follow the righteous one. When I look at what is offered in the end, it really does not seem that unfair, when I look at having ever lasting life, at living with the ones I love forever in paradise, at never feeling pain again, at only crying tears of joy, at listening to celestial music, at walking beside Jesus Christ and sitting in the presence of our Father in Heaven, the resistance does not seem that big a feat! Not one of us here on earth is perfect, we will fall short many times during the day, but he has covered us on that one, if we come to and ask forgiveness through Jesus Christ it is promised! I pray today if you are feeling lost, if you are thinking it is too difficult, if you are playing with the idea that the evil way is the easier, if you are down and out, if you seem to be getting hit from all sides and feel hopeless, that you will accept our Father in heaven into your life, that you will join me in prayer and allow him to "take the wheel" that you will consider all that you have done to this point as mere lessons of life and that you will turn your head toward the "son" and allow him to warm your heart, to heal your spirt, to cleanse your soul and fill you with the knowledge that the way may seem long, that you may become weary, that you may stumble but with him you will never fall. He loves us so very much, and as I do each morning, I am extending my hand out to him as a child does its father in the knowledge that he will hold on to it tightly so that I do not become lost in the shuffle:) Love in Christ, don't ever give up. Keep your eye on the prize and look forward to paradise:) 

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