"Daso, you have to make your mind tell your body what you want it to do!" I shout at Daso as we are out running at 5:45am around our compound. I am running ahead of her to motivate her while she is getting slower and slower.
The irony in the whole scenario strikes at my heart. I just finished listening to a sermon by John Piper entitled "Teach us to Fight: The Double Battle at Gethsemene." I pridefully tell Zach, "I was never where Daso is...I have always pushed my body...I'm not a whiner!" This week, however, the Lord has been convicting me that I have allowed my focus on Christ to slip, my zeal to wane, the enemy to encroach on the territory God has given me to fight for. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." John Piper said this is not just in the area of sexuality, this is when we are weary and tired. Peter, James, and John were with Jesus in the garden, but they were tired. They were sleeping. I stayed home from church today because I'm tired. Jesus had warned Peter that he was going to fall into temptation, loving his life more than he loved Christ. I feel this week has been my warning, and I don't want to fall into temptation.
Back to me and Daso running. I feel I'm in a Gethsemene moment in my life. Jesus has taken me along on a journey, and asked me to prepare for the fight. I must let the Spirit of God in me tell my heart and body what to do. When Jesus knew the time was coming, he didn't say, "You stay here, while I go and do this thing." He said, "The time has come, let's go!" He took them with him. Thankfully, he's a better trainer than I am. I run ahead of Daso, which discourages her, while Jesus runs alongside me, letting me fight with him. I tell my husband I have never been where Daso is, but I am exactly where Daso is spiritually. Daso told me she wanted to run to become a better athlete. Yet when the time comes to make that happen, she lacks resolve and discipline. I have told the Lord that I want to become closer to him, living more powerfully in my life and ministry. Yet when my Gethsemene comes, I become distracted and lack the discipline to make that happen.
Please pray for me! I have always been competitive, at the cost of my own body and well-being. May God use that competitiveness to make me a great warrior in the heavenly realms, thinking not of myself, but of His glory, fixing my eyes on him. Might I have the discipline to release my battle to the Lord daily, as he gives me the strength I need to fight alongside my victorious Savior.
The irony in the whole scenario strikes at my heart. I just finished listening to a sermon by John Piper entitled "Teach us to Fight: The Double Battle at Gethsemene." I pridefully tell Zach, "I was never where Daso is...I have always pushed my body...I'm not a whiner!" This week, however, the Lord has been convicting me that I have allowed my focus on Christ to slip, my zeal to wane, the enemy to encroach on the territory God has given me to fight for. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." John Piper said this is not just in the area of sexuality, this is when we are weary and tired. Peter, James, and John were with Jesus in the garden, but they were tired. They were sleeping. I stayed home from church today because I'm tired. Jesus had warned Peter that he was going to fall into temptation, loving his life more than he loved Christ. I feel this week has been my warning, and I don't want to fall into temptation.
Back to me and Daso running. I feel I'm in a Gethsemene moment in my life. Jesus has taken me along on a journey, and asked me to prepare for the fight. I must let the Spirit of God in me tell my heart and body what to do. When Jesus knew the time was coming, he didn't say, "You stay here, while I go and do this thing." He said, "The time has come, let's go!" He took them with him. Thankfully, he's a better trainer than I am. I run ahead of Daso, which discourages her, while Jesus runs alongside me, letting me fight with him. I tell my husband I have never been where Daso is, but I am exactly where Daso is spiritually. Daso told me she wanted to run to become a better athlete. Yet when the time comes to make that happen, she lacks resolve and discipline. I have told the Lord that I want to become closer to him, living more powerfully in my life and ministry. Yet when my Gethsemene comes, I become distracted and lack the discipline to make that happen.
Please pray for me! I have always been competitive, at the cost of my own body and well-being. May God use that competitiveness to make me a great warrior in the heavenly realms, thinking not of myself, but of His glory, fixing my eyes on him. Might I have the discipline to release my battle to the Lord daily, as he gives me the strength I need to fight alongside my victorious Savior.
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