Running for the Future



 

I have found a new love in my life and it is beginning to impact everything about me.

 

Every morning my new life waits for me!

 

I make my way to the back door and I find my new shoes waiting. I have started running a while back and every morning since that first time and it has changed my entire world. This past February I began to really take a look at where I was physically in relation to where He has been taking me with Him. I was at a family reunion and was talking with my uncle Bill about where the Lord was directing me and he spoke something that fell deep into my heart.

 

"Dan, your message in life is extremely important and I am seeing God take this to places that you cannot even begin to imagine. You need to ask Father to bring people into your life that He will use to help you with the delivery of this message and then ask God to bring people into your life to help you understand how to improve and maintain good health and strength. A message is useless if your do not have the physical strength to deliver that message."

 

I began to ask God for those people to be introduced into my life and I continued to dream and work those dreams. One of the things that has taken place is running. I run every morning and the time with Father is amazing!!! I bought real running shoes a while back and this cracks me up because I have never had real running shoes before. My tennis shoes have always been from Wal-Mart. The velcro strap "Danny Tanner" style y'know? These new shoes are the real deal!

 

I love these shoes because every morning, they carry me straight to Father's throne!

 

I run and  as I run I meditate, dream, speak, cry, and pour my heart out to Father.

 

I was running last week and Father settled these words on my heart, "Dan, you are not running for things now, you are running for things that I have for your future." I slowed to a jog as I took that in. Things you have for my future? I began to ask Him to show me what He had in my future and as He has begun showing me directions and paths He has for me I am amazed.

I don't see how these things are going to happen with this message but I don't have to.

 

The only thing I need to do is run.

 

So I run.

 

Have you ever been there?

 

The understanding that there is a lot more in store than you can ever fathom?

 

I love the way Paul puts this in his letter to the Church at Phillipi.

 

"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh.

If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:   Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.   Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." ~Phillipians 3:1-15

I run for my future.

 

I have the now and not the "what could happen" so I use the now to prepare for the "What could happen."

 

You have the now.

 

God sits outside of time itself and that is what eternity is. It is the present.

 

What are you doing with "the now" that you have been given?

 

Paul was pressing toward the mark. He was in the "Now" pressing for what was ahead.

 

This was really brought home to me when one morning while getting ready for work I heard a bumping shuffle in the hallway outside my bedroom door. I opened the door and looked down the hallway and this is what I saw.

 

My future.

 

We all have a future that we run for today. The problem is not the future though, the problem is our view of the future through the lens of the present.

 

If the present is a burdensome task, then the future is dreaded because all that it brings is even more burdensome tasks



 

The awesome part of it all is that our future waits for us to catch up to it. What dreams do you have? What has God placed on your heart in regards to what He has for you?

You are His workmanship and He has created you for a task that only you can do. Express Him through your own gifts, talents and abilities.

That is your future!

There are people who He has orchestrated into the musical score of your life that you will interact with and He desires you to express Him in those divine appointments.

 
 You press toward that mark! You press toward a day that is not visible yet and for results that are not seen yet. Others are watching and learning to "run" for their tomorrow by seeing you run today.

Is it worth the pain?

Is it worth the circumstances that seem to cause you grief?

Is it worth the putting aside of what feels good to you in the now?

I would submit to you that it is worth it. It does not matter what happened yesterday and it does not even matter what the future may hold as much as it matters what you do with Christ today.

He is pulling you to Him even now and He calls you to run with Him.

It has been a loss of nearly forty pounds for me since February and my health is on track to provide me with the strength that I need for the message that He has for me to deliver in the future with whatever way that may hold passage to. I run not for today, but for the strength to walk in a tomorrow with Him!

 

I have found a new love in my life and it is beginning to impact everything about me.

 

Every morning my new life waits for me!

 

I make my way to the back door and I find my new shoes waiting. I have started running a while back and every morning since that first time and it has changed my entire world.

 

I was running last week and Father settled these words on my heart, "Dan, you are not running for things now, you are running for things that I have for your future."

 

I don't see how these things are going to happen with this message but I don't have to.

 

The only thing I need to do is run.

 

So I run.

 

 

Climbing with you,

 

~Dan