12.9.24 ~ Run to Win
Good morning!
I'm the kind of person that if I don't keep my focus on something good, I'll get focused on something else not so good. If I don't keep my eyes on the prize, the finish line, the goal of my faith, I get bogged down with the temporary and usually life gets bent out of shape over things that aren't worth my life getting bent over. Hence, I am trying to stay focused on the upcoming 8 day celebration of Hanukkah (Dec. 25-Jan. 1) the January trip to Florida, potentially Honduras, and most of all the Spring feast/chag season. Looking months down the road to the Spring feast season, I think of the numeric value of Chag; 19. Ironically, on the flipside of that thought is the word we use for sin/chata and sorrow/abowy.
The writer of Hebrews tells us about focus. He alludes to the future Feasts of Yahweh when He returns and the reward according to promise that will be given (Heb. 10:36,37).
"For you have the need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come, and will not delay."
Every time I hear about endurance my mind runs to the long race of The marathon. I have run-walked one and that was enough for me. Some enter to win. Most enter as a 'bucket list' item just to finish. Fortunately, finishing and running to win is what guarantees the victory.
Followers of Yeshua HaMashiach do not enter just to finish, they enter to win. And in order to win (1 Cor. 9:24-27), individually, they are focused on helping others cross the finish line together; My brothers and sisters must cross the line with me. I can’t cross without them because my job is to make sure they reach the destination too (this was Paul's focus in running the race to win in 1 Cor. 9 and in 1 Tim. 6 and 2 Tim. 4). This is no tortoise and hare fable. This is real. This is leading from behind. This is climbing the ladder (Gen. 28; Jn. 1:50,51) and becoming the ladder (Gen. 33; 1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1,2; Rom. 8:29).
The Greek word for endures/hupomone, means “to bear up under, to persevere.” But its constituent parts tell us something important. They are hupo (under) and meno (to remain). Endurance is remaining under. It is the choice to stay with the group, to remain a servant to all, to lead by being at the rear, to carry every straggler. Endurance is symbolized in washing feet, in humbling myself so that others may shine. Endurance is choosing to decrease so that He may increase.
The secret of a life delightful to God and a blessing to others is patience. Waiting for God is always the answer because waiting requires the sublimation of my desire to take charge.
The yetzer hara/evil inclination has a voracious appetite for immediate satisfaction. Waiting for Yahweh starves that appetite. If I am willing to live on kairos time, I will not be disappointed. I will be at the finish line with you and we will celebrate and give Him the glory for the grace-filled victory together. What we need more than anything else is a dieting plan for desires and waiting is critical to such a plan. The man who surges ahead, who combats every obstacle with self-determination, who seeks victory no matter what is the man who has not yet conquered the power of the yetzer hara. Such a man turns desire into acquisition energy rather than discovering the calm reserve of knowing Yahweh's provision. Such a man struggles to remain above it all. He has yet to find the delight of waiting in the basement.
“When you have done the will of God,” says the author is inseparably linked to endurance/hupomone. One cannot do His will without endurance. Those “blessed” by lives without struggles have been shortchanged. Perhaps Yahweh in His infinite grace knew that they could not endure, but for most of us, the road is long and arduous. For good reason. That long road is the avenue of doing His will.
Of course, the length of the road is relative, isn’t it? “Yet in a very little while” quotes the author from Habakkuk. What distance is a marathon compared to encircling the earth? Look up from your plodding feet. The horizon is still far away and the road will end before you get there. The victory celebration will come before you reach the never ending horizon.
Keep running to win!
Shalom!
The writer of Hebrews tells us about focus. He alludes to the future Feasts of Yahweh when He returns and the reward according to promise that will be given (Heb. 10:36,37).
"For you have the need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come, and will not delay."
Every time I hear about endurance my mind runs to the long race of The marathon. I have run-walked one and that was enough for me. Some enter to win. Most enter as a 'bucket list' item just to finish. Fortunately, finishing and running to win is what guarantees the victory.
Followers of Yeshua HaMashiach do not enter just to finish, they enter to win. And in order to win (1 Cor. 9:24-27), individually, they are focused on helping others cross the finish line together; My brothers and sisters must cross the line with me. I can’t cross without them because my job is to make sure they reach the destination too (this was Paul's focus in running the race to win in 1 Cor. 9 and in 1 Tim. 6 and 2 Tim. 4). This is no tortoise and hare fable. This is real. This is leading from behind. This is climbing the ladder (Gen. 28; Jn. 1:50,51) and becoming the ladder (Gen. 33; 1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1,2; Rom. 8:29).
The Greek word for endures/hupomone, means “to bear up under, to persevere.” But its constituent parts tell us something important. They are hupo (under) and meno (to remain). Endurance is remaining under. It is the choice to stay with the group, to remain a servant to all, to lead by being at the rear, to carry every straggler. Endurance is symbolized in washing feet, in humbling myself so that others may shine. Endurance is choosing to decrease so that He may increase.
The secret of a life delightful to God and a blessing to others is patience. Waiting for God is always the answer because waiting requires the sublimation of my desire to take charge.
The yetzer hara/evil inclination has a voracious appetite for immediate satisfaction. Waiting for Yahweh starves that appetite. If I am willing to live on kairos time, I will not be disappointed. I will be at the finish line with you and we will celebrate and give Him the glory for the grace-filled victory together. What we need more than anything else is a dieting plan for desires and waiting is critical to such a plan. The man who surges ahead, who combats every obstacle with self-determination, who seeks victory no matter what is the man who has not yet conquered the power of the yetzer hara. Such a man turns desire into acquisition energy rather than discovering the calm reserve of knowing Yahweh's provision. Such a man struggles to remain above it all. He has yet to find the delight of waiting in the basement.
“When you have done the will of God,” says the author is inseparably linked to endurance/hupomone. One cannot do His will without endurance. Those “blessed” by lives without struggles have been shortchanged. Perhaps Yahweh in His infinite grace knew that they could not endure, but for most of us, the road is long and arduous. For good reason. That long road is the avenue of doing His will.
Of course, the length of the road is relative, isn’t it? “Yet in a very little while” quotes the author from Habakkuk. What distance is a marathon compared to encircling the earth? Look up from your plodding feet. The horizon is still far away and the road will end before you get there. The victory celebration will come before you reach the never ending horizon.
Keep running to win!
Shalom!
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