Ann Lamott, a writer who is openly religious, came to Omaha to speak about writing and faith. Outside the Holland Performing Arts Center, a number of Pro birth protesters set up shop, complete with graphic representations of aborted fetuses. People were shouting: “The devil is in that place. If you go in, you’ll go to hell.” In order to get to the Holland and Anna Lamott’s story telling, it was hard to avoid this nasty adventure. I heard it was like the wandering Hebrews passing through this River Jordan to get to the Promised Land.
The apocryphal story is of State Senator Rev. Lowen Kruse (United Methodist). Apparently he was not at a loss for words for these protesters. He is reported to have wittily retorted: “I’m not sure what all this fuss is, I don’t believe there will be any abortions in the Holland Center tonight.”
In the Holland Center, at the beginning of her talk, Ms. Lamott declared she was a member of the ACLU and proudly proclaimed the protesters had a protected right to state their case. In fact, she invited, “I’m told there may be some dissenters in this hall. So I want to give you an opportunity to enjoy your dissent, so if you’re going to dissent, would you please do me a favor and do it right now?” The crowd fell silent for several moments, then laughed, then applauded. She had called out the devil, and the devil was silent.
This story reminds us of a fifth path to the land of the weary: avoid telling the truth about ourselves and the truth about our culture. Lamott later commented, “The opposite of faith is not doubt, the opposite of faith is certainty.” This, I think, was about cockiness. Walter Brueggemann says it this way: “Tell hope that does not depend on our conservative certitude or on our liberal self-assuredness, but only on the God who has given the Easter verdict over a new world and called it “very good”.” Call out the devil and the devil will be silent in the face of truth stories.
You are invited to tell the truth: about arrogant military policy; about slaves ancient and modern; about exile and displacement; about our sensing God’s absence; about how poverty crushes in our land; about how buying sweatshop made t-shirts and clothing fosters lives of depravation; about how using up our planet may not kill us, but it may leave a wasteland for the next generation. You can fill in the blanks and you can call out the devil in our world. You can tell the truth. You can be strong. You can be firm. You can demand healthy boundaries.
We are God’s people in this time. Recognizing and claiming that will put us in places where hope can be heard and the truth can be told. And the devil will be powerless.
Matthew 4
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Friday, September 28
Thursday, September 27
meditation on Long Distance #4
Just call me Cleopatra, Queen of ___________
Yesterday’s devotion was long, Today’s won’t be.
Most students complain they have too much to do and too little time. Some, however, have a smile on their faces and a skip in their step. I asked first one, “Are you OK? And she spat out, “No, I’ve been sick, I’ve got exams, I’ve got papers, I’ve got projects. I feel awful.” I asked the other, “How’s it going?” and she reflected, “It’s not that I’m giddy, but I feel fine. I’ve got exams, I’ve got papers, I’ve got projects, but I’ve got hope.”
I often wonder what makes us sick. When my oldest child would come home from an all night event, he would be exhausted. A day or so later he would have strep throat. There was notion of causality there. When he would deny he was tired or sick, he just got more tired and that led to really having a case of strep throat. His problem started by being tired and the problem was fanned by denying it.
Maybe you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, If you are it might just be time to change your behavior. Instead of getting sicker and more tired, try a different way of living.
A fourth way to weariness is denying there is weariness. Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament scholar and prophet, puts it this way:
We are weary with anxiety fed by our denial;
We are heavy laden with coercion fed by our despair.
Here is the remedy:
Anxiety fed by denial has no power where truth is told;
Coercion fed by despair has no power where hope is told.
(Walter Brueggemann “Mandate to Difference” p. 46)
Hang with us, Hang with Jesus. Walk the labyrinth. Make yourself useful. Be justice oriented and buy sweat free. Drink Fair Trade. There are no ridiculous perfect answers, but our questions and our responses and connections get deeper and deeper. We invite you to allow the invitation to hope to make a difference.
It’s your choice. Don’t deny it!
Watch for the signs of the new yoke.
Matthew 11:
28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Yesterday’s devotion was long, Today’s won’t be.
Most students complain they have too much to do and too little time. Some, however, have a smile on their faces and a skip in their step. I asked first one, “Are you OK? And she spat out, “No, I’ve been sick, I’ve got exams, I’ve got papers, I’ve got projects. I feel awful.” I asked the other, “How’s it going?” and she reflected, “It’s not that I’m giddy, but I feel fine. I’ve got exams, I’ve got papers, I’ve got projects, but I’ve got hope.”
I often wonder what makes us sick. When my oldest child would come home from an all night event, he would be exhausted. A day or so later he would have strep throat. There was notion of causality there. When he would deny he was tired or sick, he just got more tired and that led to really having a case of strep throat. His problem started by being tired and the problem was fanned by denying it.
Maybe you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, If you are it might just be time to change your behavior. Instead of getting sicker and more tired, try a different way of living.
A fourth way to weariness is denying there is weariness. Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament scholar and prophet, puts it this way:
We are weary with anxiety fed by our denial;
We are heavy laden with coercion fed by our despair.
Here is the remedy:
Anxiety fed by denial has no power where truth is told;
Coercion fed by despair has no power where hope is told.
(Walter Brueggemann “Mandate to Difference” p. 46)
Hang with us, Hang with Jesus. Walk the labyrinth. Make yourself useful. Be justice oriented and buy sweat free. Drink Fair Trade. There are no ridiculous perfect answers, but our questions and our responses and connections get deeper and deeper. We invite you to allow the invitation to hope to make a difference.
It’s your choice. Don’t deny it!
Watch for the signs of the new yoke.
Matthew 11:
28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Meditation on Long Distance #3
We can become weary through physical exhaustion (09/24), We can become weary through doing work and activities that go against the grain of vocation (0925).
A third way of becoming weary is the result blaming behavior—“it must be someone else’s fault.” During last night’s ISS* gathering, we listened to Ari Handel spin the story of his life as a researcher and Santiago, his monkey. For a listen yourself, go to: http://www.themoth.org/listen. In the story, the researcher finds ways to manipulate Santiago’s behavior. Santiago goes along with this until one morning, he is no longer willing to play the game. The project then becomes a battle of wills. Ari’s comment: “I was engaged in a battle of wits with an animal with the brain the size of my fist, and I was losing….” So Ari concocts and implements plans until the monkey relents. Ari wins the battle of wills, but Santiago is no longer a spirited monkey. Sanitago does his work, then goes home. He’s no longer interested or interesting. The relationship between Ari and Santiago is one of master and slave, owner and cubicle inhabitant. But Ari, the grand perpetrator wonders, “why is he (Santiago) doing this to me?”
That’s just it, we wonder, why is he/she/it/the system/my system/my instructor/my family/the world/my church/God doing this to me? These are questions not fit for the weak of heart because they beg us to find answers deep within our spiritual lives. It’s all about not taking responsibility for what we’ve done or thinking through that for which we hope.
Here’s a few paragraphs from a concentration camp in WWII about the same thing (yeah, this really happened):
“It had been a bad day. On parade, an announcement that had been made about the many actions that would from then on, be regarded as sabotage and therefore punishable by immediate death by hanging. Among these were crimes such as cutting small strips from our old blankets (in order to improvise ankle supports) and very minor “thefts.” A few days previously a semi-starved prisoner had broken into the potato store to steal a few pounds of potatoes. The theft had been discovered and some prisoners had recognized the “burglar.” When the camp authorities heard about it they ordered that the guilty man be given up to them or the whole camp would starve for a day. Naturally the 2,500 men preferred to fast.
On the evening of this day of fasting we lay in our earthen huts—in a very low mood. Very little was said and every word sounded irritable. Then, to make matters even worse, the light went out. Tempers reached their lowest ebb. But our senior block warden was a wise man. He improvised a little talk about all that was on our minds at that moment. He talked about the many comrades who had died in the last few days, either of sickness or of suicide. But he also mentioned what may have been the real reason for their deaths: giving up hope. He maintained that there should be some way of preventing possible future victims from reaching this extreme state.” (read about Frankl’s speech to the captives following p. 102 “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl)
We do not have to do time in a WWII concentration camp to understand how giving up hope can remove the will to live with meaning. We can see it in others, we see it in our city’s violence between citizens, we see it in ourselves. Evidently, Jesus saw it as well:
Matthew 20:
20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The mother of James and John, and the brothers themselves decided it would be good to improve their position in life by asking for a change in relation to Jesus. They gave all the power to that formal request. They were willing to make a deal. They would have been better off, I think, by taking responsibility for their own lives and improving themselves. That change would have resulted in a change of relationship with their leader, Jesus.
Perhaps a healthy step removing weariness in their lives would have been to not let their mother take care of things for them!
Instead of fighting with our Santiagos and Saviors (so we can get what we want out of them and later blame them when things do not go our way), why not make take some responsibility for ourselves and determine, “What have I done? What do I really hope for? Is there any connection between the two?” If there’s no connection, what will you do about that?
*(Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, 8 PM, Tuesdays, the Tower Room, 3rd floor of MBSC—you’re welcome to join us. Next week is music night. Two or three people bring music that moves them spiritually. The only rule is that the music must not be playable on Christian Rock stations and yet is deeply moving to the person bringing it to the meeting.
A third way of becoming weary is the result blaming behavior—“it must be someone else’s fault.” During last night’s ISS* gathering, we listened to Ari Handel spin the story of his life as a researcher and Santiago, his monkey. For a listen yourself, go to: http://www.themoth.org/listen. In the story, the researcher finds ways to manipulate Santiago’s behavior. Santiago goes along with this until one morning, he is no longer willing to play the game. The project then becomes a battle of wills. Ari’s comment: “I was engaged in a battle of wits with an animal with the brain the size of my fist, and I was losing….” So Ari concocts and implements plans until the monkey relents. Ari wins the battle of wills, but Santiago is no longer a spirited monkey. Sanitago does his work, then goes home. He’s no longer interested or interesting. The relationship between Ari and Santiago is one of master and slave, owner and cubicle inhabitant. But Ari, the grand perpetrator wonders, “why is he (Santiago) doing this to me?”
That’s just it, we wonder, why is he/she/it/the system/my system/my instructor/my family/the world/my church/God doing this to me? These are questions not fit for the weak of heart because they beg us to find answers deep within our spiritual lives. It’s all about not taking responsibility for what we’ve done or thinking through that for which we hope.
Here’s a few paragraphs from a concentration camp in WWII about the same thing (yeah, this really happened):
“It had been a bad day. On parade, an announcement that had been made about the many actions that would from then on, be regarded as sabotage and therefore punishable by immediate death by hanging. Among these were crimes such as cutting small strips from our old blankets (in order to improvise ankle supports) and very minor “thefts.” A few days previously a semi-starved prisoner had broken into the potato store to steal a few pounds of potatoes. The theft had been discovered and some prisoners had recognized the “burglar.” When the camp authorities heard about it they ordered that the guilty man be given up to them or the whole camp would starve for a day. Naturally the 2,500 men preferred to fast.
On the evening of this day of fasting we lay in our earthen huts—in a very low mood. Very little was said and every word sounded irritable. Then, to make matters even worse, the light went out. Tempers reached their lowest ebb. But our senior block warden was a wise man. He improvised a little talk about all that was on our minds at that moment. He talked about the many comrades who had died in the last few days, either of sickness or of suicide. But he also mentioned what may have been the real reason for their deaths: giving up hope. He maintained that there should be some way of preventing possible future victims from reaching this extreme state.” (read about Frankl’s speech to the captives following p. 102 “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl)
We do not have to do time in a WWII concentration camp to understand how giving up hope can remove the will to live with meaning. We can see it in others, we see it in our city’s violence between citizens, we see it in ourselves. Evidently, Jesus saw it as well:
Matthew 20:
20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The mother of James and John, and the brothers themselves decided it would be good to improve their position in life by asking for a change in relation to Jesus. They gave all the power to that formal request. They were willing to make a deal. They would have been better off, I think, by taking responsibility for their own lives and improving themselves. That change would have resulted in a change of relationship with their leader, Jesus.
Perhaps a healthy step removing weariness in their lives would have been to not let their mother take care of things for them!
Instead of fighting with our Santiagos and Saviors (so we can get what we want out of them and later blame them when things do not go our way), why not make take some responsibility for ourselves and determine, “What have I done? What do I really hope for? Is there any connection between the two?” If there’s no connection, what will you do about that?
*(Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, 8 PM, Tuesdays, the Tower Room, 3rd floor of MBSC—you’re welcome to join us. Next week is music night. Two or three people bring music that moves them spiritually. The only rule is that the music must not be playable on Christian Rock stations and yet is deeply moving to the person bringing it to the meeting.
Tuesday, September 25
meditation on long distance #2
One way we become weary is physical: too little sleep or lots of physical work. When we’re weary we may make poor decisions and make our situation worse. A second way to become weary is to have energy, but be required to put that energy into work that’s wrong for us: continually doing the things we that don’t bring out the best in ourselves, the things that don’t remind us about God in our lives, and the things that demand we avoid contact with positive, energy giving values.
The movie, “the Brave One” is just out with Jodie Foster. She’s a NYC radio personality who talks about the streets of New York. Through violence done to herself and her lover, she collapses into a heap of rage. She buys a gun (illegally, of course) and becomes a vigilante, killing bad people. At the end of the movie, the credits roll and the name of the film, “the Brave One” made me wonder, “who is brave in this film?” Jodie Foster, who’s vigilante attitude could have caused the devolution of society, her friend the cop, who colludes with her, her friend who lives in the same building, who has gone through the boy soldier wars in Africa, or her dog, who is held captive and is freed to go home.
Who is brave in life? It could be the people “do what they have to do.” It could also be those who break out and bring God’s vision to our planet.
Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament scholar, puts it this way:
“So what is it that makes people like us weary? It is not working too hard that makes us weary. It is rather, I submit, living a life that is against the grain of our true creatureliness, living a ministry that is against the grain of our true vocation, being placed in a false position so that our day-to-day operation requires us to contradict what we know best about ourselves and what we love most about our life as children of God. Exhaustion comes from the demand that we be, in some measure, other than we truly are; such an alienation requires too much energy to navigate.” (Walter Brueggeman “Mandate to Make a Difference”, p.42)
A brick making story from scripture goes this way:
Exodus 5
5Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people.” 17He said, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ 18Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.” 20As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. 21They said to them, “The LORD look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
We’ve always got time to bake bricks, but God shows us a better way than being anxious. Stay tuned.
The movie, “the Brave One” is just out with Jodie Foster. She’s a NYC radio personality who talks about the streets of New York. Through violence done to herself and her lover, she collapses into a heap of rage. She buys a gun (illegally, of course) and becomes a vigilante, killing bad people. At the end of the movie, the credits roll and the name of the film, “the Brave One” made me wonder, “who is brave in this film?” Jodie Foster, who’s vigilante attitude could have caused the devolution of society, her friend the cop, who colludes with her, her friend who lives in the same building, who has gone through the boy soldier wars in Africa, or her dog, who is held captive and is freed to go home.
Who is brave in life? It could be the people “do what they have to do.” It could also be those who break out and bring God’s vision to our planet.
Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament scholar, puts it this way:
“So what is it that makes people like us weary? It is not working too hard that makes us weary. It is rather, I submit, living a life that is against the grain of our true creatureliness, living a ministry that is against the grain of our true vocation, being placed in a false position so that our day-to-day operation requires us to contradict what we know best about ourselves and what we love most about our life as children of God. Exhaustion comes from the demand that we be, in some measure, other than we truly are; such an alienation requires too much energy to navigate.” (Walter Brueggeman “Mandate to Make a Difference”, p.42)
A brick making story from scripture goes this way:
Exodus 5
5Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people.” 17He said, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ 18Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.” 20As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. 21They said to them, “The LORD look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
We’ve always got time to bake bricks, but God shows us a better way than being anxious. Stay tuned.
Monday, September 24
meditation on long distance #1
Grasping for Energy
Few things in life are as insidious as exhaustion. Not only does weariness tax your body, weariness also is the end of good decisions and awareness. Just ask anyone who has run a marathon. At about the 2/3-3/4 mark, the body’s system runs out of nutrient supply. A person’s body is affected and get wobbly. The brain is affected, too; the result being giving in to the urge to quit. The brain supplies a number of reasons why this is a good idea, among them: “nobody cares”, “it really doesn’t matter,” and “I’ve already proved I’m way beyond average.”
Every three miles along the running route, there is a water station. Runners time themselves from station to station. “Three miles more. I should be there in 24 minutes (or whatever speed is right for the runner. Trust me, runners know their three-mile speed.)
Al this really did happen to me. Years ago I was in the Omaha marathon. This was back in the day when the route ran north from downtown, past the airport and circled through Ponca Hills. At mile 18, I was fine, I thought. I kept looking for the next water station, and it kept not appearing. “I should have passed it by now,” I wheezed. I kept running, but still no water station. My mind went nuts. I figured the marathon organizers had failed to put the station where it belonged. They had in fact, removed it to make the run even tougher than it was. Outrageous! I’m going to quit and show them, I concluded. Soon, I was walking instead of running, cursing my bad luck, my stupidity for being suckered into this race and all the time I’d spent training. I blamed everyone I could think of. My thought process was kaput.
Then I was passed by a runner. “Where’s the water?” I pled. “Up ahead. Keep running.” I did and it was up ahead. The reality was that I was slowing down because I was tired. And I was out of energy. I knew it was going to be a battle to finish, but at least I knew that that’s what it was.
This week, as you settle into a rhythm and routine of school and work, I’ll be encouraging you to get to the next water station and keep going. I also encourage you to get some sleep and let your body recover, so you can make the best decisions you can.
After all, this is a marathon you’re in—it’s either a marathon this week, this semester, this degree, or this life. Whatever you’re running, it’s spreading out before you and it’s a long way to go.
Today, just recognize it’s a long way, make sure you have the right shoes for the run, (Ephesians 6:15 -- 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace) know where the run is headed, and why you’re in the race in the first place. Know what the reward is.
Matthew 25
25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Few things in life are as insidious as exhaustion. Not only does weariness tax your body, weariness also is the end of good decisions and awareness. Just ask anyone who has run a marathon. At about the 2/3-3/4 mark, the body’s system runs out of nutrient supply. A person’s body is affected and get wobbly. The brain is affected, too; the result being giving in to the urge to quit. The brain supplies a number of reasons why this is a good idea, among them: “nobody cares”, “it really doesn’t matter,” and “I’ve already proved I’m way beyond average.”
Every three miles along the running route, there is a water station. Runners time themselves from station to station. “Three miles more. I should be there in 24 minutes (or whatever speed is right for the runner. Trust me, runners know their three-mile speed.)
Al this really did happen to me. Years ago I was in the Omaha marathon. This was back in the day when the route ran north from downtown, past the airport and circled through Ponca Hills. At mile 18, I was fine, I thought. I kept looking for the next water station, and it kept not appearing. “I should have passed it by now,” I wheezed. I kept running, but still no water station. My mind went nuts. I figured the marathon organizers had failed to put the station where it belonged. They had in fact, removed it to make the run even tougher than it was. Outrageous! I’m going to quit and show them, I concluded. Soon, I was walking instead of running, cursing my bad luck, my stupidity for being suckered into this race and all the time I’d spent training. I blamed everyone I could think of. My thought process was kaput.
Then I was passed by a runner. “Where’s the water?” I pled. “Up ahead. Keep running.” I did and it was up ahead. The reality was that I was slowing down because I was tired. And I was out of energy. I knew it was going to be a battle to finish, but at least I knew that that’s what it was.
This week, as you settle into a rhythm and routine of school and work, I’ll be encouraging you to get to the next water station and keep going. I also encourage you to get some sleep and let your body recover, so you can make the best decisions you can.
After all, this is a marathon you’re in—it’s either a marathon this week, this semester, this degree, or this life. Whatever you’re running, it’s spreading out before you and it’s a long way to go.
Today, just recognize it’s a long way, make sure you have the right shoes for the run, (Ephesians 6:15 -- 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace) know where the run is headed, and why you’re in the race in the first place. Know what the reward is.
Matthew 25
25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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