Spiritual Formation

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  Finish Lines

  5/21/2024
  by John Bishop, Director of Spiritual Formation

   

  There is nothing quite like crossing the finish line at the end of a grueling race. Especially, if you’re able to look up and see your PR on the clock. Races are a funny thing though, because they’re such a small part of the overall experience. 

   

  This summer the Olympics will be hosted in Paris, France on July 26 – August 11. And while you’re watching the sprinters fly down the track at record speeds, crushing the barriers of human potential, keep in mind that for every second the gold metal sprinters take to get from the start line to the finish line, they have spent countless thousands of hours training. And as soon as the Olympics are over, they’re back on the track getting ready for the next race. Finish lines aren’t really where you finish. They are only where you measure your progress and count the cost. 

   

  This year we have been talking about being wholehearted. Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.” Now we’re at the end of the year and the temptation is to think that this is the end, and, in a way, it is. Next year we will have a new verse and a new theme. We’ll have different shirts, different messages, different challenges and encouragements. 

   

  But Psalm 86:11, and the theme of being wholehearted, shouldn’t ever end. Just because we’ve come to the end of the year doesn’t mean that this is the finish line for Wholehearted. So don’t stop. Continue to open up your divided heart to God. Believe that, in faith, He will heal the areas you need Him most. 

   

  Matthew 24:13 says, “But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves [wholeheartedly] to the work of the Lord.” And trust that His promise will be true in and through your life. 

   

  “You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11 

   

  I hope as you cross the finish line of this school year, you’re able to see how much progress you’ve made as you’ve sought the LORD. I hope you’re also able to take inventory and count the cost of the life you’re busy living. And mostly, I hope you get back on the track and keep running hard after God. 

   

  Enjoy your summer. Cheer loudly for the U.S.A. this July, and we’ll see you soon!