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Stable
It’s crazy how time flies. I can’t believe it’s already November. Where has this year gone? Hope you all had a great week and I hope you remembered to brush your teeth after eating all that candy. Our Harvest Fest/Faces of Hell Drama/Maze was a huge success. If you missed it, you’ll just have to wait till next year for the next showing.
I was praying the other morning and the word “Stable” just kind of got stuck in my head, so I paused for a second, wrote it down, then got back into prayer. A lot of times that’s how I get an idea for the column. God will just put a word or title in my heart and it’ll stick with me for a couple of days. So when I started to work on this week’s column, I looked up that word in the dictionary and it describes “Stable” as: “firmly established, fixed, steadfast, not changing, unvarying, permanent, enduring, sturdy, not subject to emotional illness or insecurity, sane, rational.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
I’ve come to realize that this Christian walk is about being faithful, consistent, sturdy, reliable and accountable. We all go through highs and lows, good times and bad times, the happy and the sad, but those that are able to stay “Stable” through and through are the ones that make it to the end. I think many times we tend to get too caught up in everything around us. I’ve learned throughout the years that sometimes you have to let things go. You can’t let the past influence where you are now. You have to forgive and forget, let bygones be bygones and choose to love like Christ loved. Your brother might have hurt you time after time, but just like Christ is willing to forgive, we must also be willing to forgive.
For those who have been reading these columns for awhile, you’ve seen some of the highs and lows in my life. You’ve walked with me through some of the tough times and been with me through some of the good times. I try to be transparent in my writing because I know we all deal with many of the same struggles and obstacles. And maybe, just maybe how I’ve managed to get through some of those trials, they can help you overcome as well.
The one thing I know is that I’ve tried to be “Stable” with this opportunity to write each week. There have been weeks I’ve missed, but mostly due to some unforeseen circumstance. I’ve been faithful and reliable to this ministry God has blessed me with. There were times in the past where I wasn’t faithful in things God put me over, but I’ve learned the importance of staying consistent and being reliable. I’ve found that people are counting on me, but more importantly God is counting on me. I say all this not to brag or boast, but I say this to encourage you that it can be done. If God can use someone like me, then He can use you too. God’s challenging you as well to be more “Stable” in your walk.
That’s not to say it has always been easy. There have been times I’ve wanted to quit and throw in the towel. There have been times where I just wanted to run away from everything and start over somewhere else. But then God always reminds me that He was the One that chose me and brought me to where I am today. How can I not be faithful to Him for all He’s done for me?
You can’t achieve all God’s called you to do unless you first prove yourself faithful. God is looking for you to be faithful with the little before He can put you over much. He wants you to be consistent. He wants you to be rooted like that tree planted by the water. He wants you to strive for perfection. He wants you to become all that He’s called you to be.
Ask any preacher if once they got saved they automatically started out behind the pulpit. They will say, “No.” That gift was developed over time. They had to first go through a process. They had to prove themselves faithful, not to man, not to a church, not to anyone, but first to God. Before God entrusts you over a group, He first sees if you are going to be faithful over one or two.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”
Now, I’ve never run a marathon before, but I’ve been told that you don’t win the marathon in the first mile. It’s not a race of who’s the fastest or the quickest. It’s a race of who can endure. I believe that’s kind of like our Christian lives. Those that finish this race are consistent. They run at a steady pace. In our Christian walk we need to stay steady and consistent. We need to find that pace that God has called us to run.
Yes, we’re going to stumble at times. We’re going to fall behind the pack. We’re going to have thoughts of giving up. We’re going to have to climb some hills. But we’re also going to have spurts where we get that second burst of energy. We’re going to have times where we’re coasting downhill. The important thing is that we finish the race.
That’s what I’m aiming for in my life. I want to reach that finish line where my Heavenly Father is waiting for me ready to say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” No matter where you’re at in this great race, I pray that you continue to press on. Our God is running right along side you making sure you have everything you need to succeed. All He asks is that you stay “Stable” for the long run.
2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
w/muchluv,
geno
JESUS LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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