Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Perseverance: The Race Set Before Us
“Wherefore seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us,”
Hebrews 12:1
Gaman is a Japanese term
of Zen origin which means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience
and dignity". The term is generally translated as "perseverance"
or "patience."
And, within Scripture,
this principle is, indeed, a faith focal point.
“... we glory in tribulations also:
knowing that tribulation worketh patience. And patience, experience; and
experience, hope:”
Romans 5:3-4
“For ye have need of patience, that,
after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
Hebrews 10:36
I don’t know
about your physical education experience when you were a kid, but my class
always participated in the annual presidential physical fitness test.
Is anyone
out there groaning yet?
As part of that
test to assess kids’ fitness levels, things like pushups, sit ups and pull ups
were measured. But the thing which caused me the most dread- and the least success- was the 600 yard run.
Now, is anyone out there groaning?
If you’re not
familiar with this test, let me break it down. It required some hyped up kids
running around the football field twice to measure their personal stamina and
speed. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Perhaps, if you’re a long distance runner,
you wouldn’t sweat the field one bit. But, for me, year after year, I feared
it, anticipating the worst possible outcomes: face plants, side aches and of
course, coming in last.
And, sure
enough, each time I ran this race, clumsy me would surface as I endeavored to complete
the run. I’d start out, running fast, with my blue Nikes pounding the grass. Sometimes,
at the start of the race, I’d even think, “this isn’t so bad.”
But reality
would show up soon enough.
Eventually,
one by one, the other kids would pass me. “Everyone else” seemed to finish as a
herd, in a timely fashion, while I was the one stray loser, stumbling to the
finish line. And, as I crossed that finish line (if that’s what you want to
call it), the other kids laughed at me.
It was
further confirmation I was subpar. And it impacted my life, into adulthood.
I repeatedly set myself up for failure. How? I
required perfection of myself. Whether it was by procrastination, eating
disorder behaviors or unrealistic expectations from ever- changing
achievements, the core focus was still unrealistic and harmful perfection. It’s
one I’m still working on to this day.
Indeed, part
of my definition of perfection involved “getting it” quickly. I felt I never caught
on to something “everyone else” seemed to automatically pick up with no
problem.
How’s that
for a tidy little lie? Comparing
ourselves against others is dangerous. We lose sight of ourselves.
Runners are often
instructed not to look at their fellow competitors when they’re in the middle of
a race. Why? Is it some savvy intimidation strategy? No. Simply put, it’s to
keep the runner from getting distracted, so he/she won’t face plant into the
ground because he/she isn’t paying attention to where he/she is going.
Lesson: run
your own race.
“…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run
with patience the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews
12:1
Easier said
than done? Yes. But is it achievable? Yes, it is.
It’s not
because we’re perfect. It’s not even because we’re fast. Some of us pick up
things at a slower pace.
But it’s
about continuing the race, at whatever speed you and I find ourselves
running-or walking-or crawling. It’s about the Gaman concept of two words,
“keep going.”
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle
to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to
them all.”
Ecclesiastes
9:11
There are
times in our lives when it appears no movement is happening. No one is immune
from these setbacks. Each of us is subject to “time and chance,” like Ecclesiastes
tells us.
However,
like Reverend Charles Spurgeon once stated, “By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.”
Do you feel
like a snail, like you’re losing your own race? Where are you looking?
“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be
established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot
from evil.”
Proverbs
4:26- 27
For every
race you’ve participated in, football field or no football field, Elohim is running with you.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward him...”
2
Chronicles 16:9
That
includes the race of recovery. It is an ongoing marathon. Therefore, within
that context, 2 Chronicles’ use of the word “perfect” doesn’t mean “perfect” at
all; it means focused on our Divine
Source.
That’s the
real challenge, isn’t it? We’re called to persevere in our lives for the Most
High, however imperfectly that may be.
“…let us run with
patience the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews
12:1
Indeed, we need look no further than to that of our own Messiah.
His excruciating death exemplifies the endurance.
“... the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of
God.”
Hebrews 12:2
Pain, trauma, recovery, self-improvement, goal
setting and a healthy perspective and relationship with both ourselves and our
God all require we run the race of perseverance. There are no shortcuts. But
the rewards? They transcend the spiritual, touching our physical, emotional,
mental and imperfect selves.
And they all contribute to our unique,
personal and triumphant finish lines.
But we need to begin running our race.
Movement starts within the spirit and spreads through our persevering feet.
The victorious race is meant for you; start
running it now.
Copyright ©
2017 by Sheryle Cruse
Celebrating Our Peculiar Selves
Scripture
tells us we are to be a peculiar people:
“But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9
And, most of
the time, that doesn’t seem to stack up well against our limited definitions of
beauty.
Yes, we have opened up more variance with
image, reflecting multicultural, unique features. Still, we often seem to like
to fall back on what is widely known, accepted and comfortable. Ergo, for
example, tall, thin, blue eyes, blonde hair, on Caucasian skin tones.
Yet,
scripture, once again, gives us a blanket assessment of our value and yes, our
inherent beauty:
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
There are no
qualifiers; there is no preference given concerning a hierarchy.
“…‘God
is no respecter of persons.’”
Acts
10:34
There is
only the definitive assurance we are spectacular.
I like
Charles Bauderlaire’s statement on beauty.
“Beauty always has an element of
strangeness...simple, unintended unconscious strangeness which gives it the
right to call it beauty.”
Beauty
transcends cultural image. It’s about the surprise element. It’s about the
unusual, the rare, that thing we cannot put our finger on which attracts us.
The “je ne sais quoi” of it all.
We don’t
appreciate that “je ne sais quoi” element nearly as much as we should. Yet,
come on. The Most High, in all of His Glory, revels in that enigmatic concept.
And we are
made IN His Image:
“So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them.”
Genesis 1:27
Each of us
needs to challenge the beauty definition presented to us.
What are the judgments in that
definition?
What are the restrictions?
The entitlements?
The punishments?
There’s more
going on concerning the question/statement of beauty, a/k/a, acceptance, than
just an aesthetic.
The Most
High created beauty, certainly. But He didn’t create it to be a weapon used
against His Creation.
Sadly, we are the ones who do that.
In this
world, it seems we cannot avoid the power of the beauty image. It exists as a money
maker, a political tool, an oppressive weapon and unfortunately, yes, a teacher
of lies...
“What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath
graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work
trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood,
Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with
gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.”
Habakkuk 2:18-19
And all of
these factors are to the detriment of anyone deemed “peculiar,” in any way.
We need to
look beyond the surface of image, beauty and appearance.
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
What do
those things truly mean to and for
us?
And, while
we’re searching, we would benefit from keeping another helpful scripture in
mind on the subject matter:
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good...”
Genesis 1:31
The
determination is “good,” no matter if it...
...is strange...
...is unfamiliar...
...is different...
...is unexpected...
...is unlike the accepted image
definition of the culture and time...
...is peculiar...
Again...
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good...”
Genesis 1:31
We need to
get over ourselves already.
We need to
stop clinging so tightly to some mandated, unrealistic, unhealthy image
definition of what makes us beautiful, valuable, acceptable and “enough.” We
are all of those things inherently. Nothing needs to be added.
Instead of
punishing what isn’t “cookie cutter” about us, what if we celebrated it?
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
That’s a
celebration worth attending.
Copyright © 2017 by Sheryle Cruse
Monday, October 2, 2017
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