The Path Ahead

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:33-34 NIV

This morning as I was running outside on the YMCA track, I began to look far down the path ahead of me. As I did this, I noticed that my motivation to run began to slip. I found myself desiring to slow down, to even walk, instead of continuing on with my steady pace. I also began to scan my surroundings as I was running, looking up at the Y building on my left and at the trees on my right, the tennis court, the swimming pool, etc. As I did this, I was really struggling to continue to run. I was becoming increasingly distracted from the running and began to desire to take a break.

Yet, in that moment, I turned my eyes toward the path that was directly in front of me. I only looked a few feet or so ahead of where I was and remained fixed upon that short span of distance ahead. As I listened to my MP3, I began to meditate on the Lord and could focus on the steps that I was taking. Before too long, I was at the end of my run, breathless but feeling great that I had finished.

Our life in Christ is similar in so many ways to this running experience. It was as if the Lord was showing me how to run this race of life for Him. He was showing me that I am not to look too far ahead in the distance, because I may become overwhelmed by its magnitude. He doesn't want me to look off to the right or left, for I may become distracted from His Will. He wants me to focus on what lies directly ahead, even living moment by moment, footstep by footstep, in Him. He will direct my path and give me the strength to not only finish, but finish strong.