Are large projects harder to start… or finish?
I once believed that starting a new project was harder than completing it. I felt this way because I would get stuck in the weeds as I overthought the steps needed to start and run the project. For example, when I began the journey towards eating healthier and working out, I spent more time researching what to do than just taking the steps and doing the actual work. Its like spending all your energy thinking about getting off the couch and finally just convincing yourself that tomorrow would be a better day to start the goal.
However, I also realized If I have a deadline set in stone,
I am more apt to start and reach my intended goal. Quite a few years ago I needed a certification
to advance my career. The test was a
brutal four-hour exam. I knew what needed
to be done to prepare and scheduled the date for the exam. I had set time aside
daily to study and pushed everything else away so I could pass the test. Failure was not an option for me. I was motivated to succeed because the alternative
was going to cost me financially in my career. Because I had the ‘end game’ in mind, which
was passing the exam and getting a better job, I stuck to my studies until I
took and passed the exam.
The pain of remaining the same was greater than the pain of
change. Sound familiar? Staying in the same position without a chance
of advancement became a greater source of pain than pushing forward and advancing
my career.
Working out.
Changing my eating habits.
Writing my next book.
Growing closer in my walk with Christ.
Now that last one hit home…
We were all on fire when we came to the Lord. Remember the excitement? Remember thinking we had the entire world
ahead of us? Everything was bright and
new and shiny! We were so filled with Hope and Joy!
We RAN with confidence!
We RAN with so much energy!
Then things begin to get into the way. Work, family, pets, sickness, death…
Then the shiny glow dimmed a bit and our walk slowed down.
Things in life have distracted me from my goals.
Even as I write this, other things are distracting my
thoughts…
I am writing this today to put a little umph in your
step. A little jump in your stride. A proverbial shot of adrenaline into your
soul. We can’t do this race alone. We need each other. We need Christ.
We are here to do this thing called life together. Our walk should focus on the end game. Remember what I keep saying? “We know how the Book ends.” Wake up every day and remind yourself that we
are running the race to win, not just to plod along until the end. We want to gain the crown! (2 Tim 4:7-8) Even
though we don’t see it in front of us, we do have a deadline set in stone. None of us know how much time we have
left. Our days are numbered.
What are we doing with the time we have while we are still
here?
How do we stay focused on our goal to the end?
Tie your shoes and get back on track. Today is the day to start again. There is no shame in picking up and beginning
again. Failure only occurs when we give
up. Don’t give up. Run the race to win! We are to run to the last day. To the last breath… We need to keep pressing in like we have all
the hours left and hold nothing back.
When we take on a new project, we must keep the end goal in
mind each step of the way. From the
first step out of the gate till the last step over the finish line. Keeping the end game in sight helps us stay
focused on what is important.
Distractions are always going to be there. Ignore the distractions and remember what
Christ did for us.
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Do you see a fellow believer struggling with his or her
race? Reach out and lift your brother or
sister up today with a word of encouragement.
Run alongside them and give them hope.
We need each other. When you lift
someone up, you are lifted up as well. Our cups are filled when we fill other’s.
Plant, water, and harvest as many seeds as possible while you are here. Lets take as many as we can from the enemy’s hands before we leave this earth.
Are you in...?
How are we doing in our race?
Are we letting the things of this world distract and get in
our way?
Are we coasting till…?
Are we running to win in the end?
Are our sneakers laced and ready to go?
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I
have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only
to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim
is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the
task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have
already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which
Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself
yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 13:18-23
The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who
hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root,
they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the
word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to
someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness
of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good
soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one
who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the
message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and
snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the
path.
Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.
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