The race •

    Do you ever feel like you are being weighed down, or held back? Maybe you feel like your sin is weighing you down to where you feel like you can’t even walk. Or maybe it’s a burden that has been laid on you that is to heavy to bear. Well one question that I want you to ask yourself is, is this affecting how you’re running your race? Is it slowing you down or holding you back from truly seeking God wholeheartedly.
    Sometimes in life we have to tell our burdens to other people have an accountability partner who’s there to listen when we just need to get something off of our chest. Whether it be a best friend or even a parent someone you can talk to who can help you carry that burden so you’re not alone. Someone who will help you get through your hard times the right way. Someone who can Help take some of the burden so it’s not so hard on you.The Bible tells us that we were supposed to take one another’s burdens.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:2‬ ‭

    Not only can we talk to others who we trust but there’s someone who will always be there to take our burdens away from us. That’s God. He tells us in the Bible that we can cast all of our worries, our cares, our burdens, and all of our anxieties on him because he cares for us. He died for us so that we wouldn’t have to carry all that he wants us to give our burdens to him so we don’t have to carry them. God died for us because he cares for us he chose us so let’s choose to put all of our worries in our burdens behind us and give them to God.

“casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.”1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ 

    So I’m gonna go back to the first question that I asked you how are you running your race. Are you walking, are you jogging, are you running your race with endurance full speed on fire for God. My challenge for everyone today is if you have sin in your life that is holding you back or holding you down give it to God. Go to God and lay your sin down before him. Give God your everything. Because he gave everything for you. Run your race with endurance seek God with all you have.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭

Valleys •

    Have you ever been in a valley before or maybe you are in one now. Well my best friend told me that all Christians go through valleys. Here recently I myself was in  a valley but I began to climb.

    I won't lie to you and tell you that there was not a moment when I thought that nothing good was going to come out of the situation that I was in. Or that I didn't question Why God was making me go through this. But then I realized that God does not give us anything that we can't handle.

    The bible tells us that God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us. From this we can take away that no matter what we go through God has plans to make it work for good.

     "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

    When you are in a valley you don't have to fear because you are not alone. No matter how deep or dark the valley may feel or seem you have to remember that God is right there with you through every step.

"Even though I walk

   through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

    for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me." Psalm 23:4 

     God will give us the strength to get through every obstetrical that he places in our lives. he is not going to leave us alone and let us struggle. He is our heavenly father he will be our shelter and our home when we have none. He will be the strength that we need when we are at our weakest.

"So do not fear, for I am with you;

    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

    No matter how deep your valley may be one thing we can always cling to is knowing that Gods love for you is deeper. And sometimes we have to walk by faith. Trusting God that he will take care of us, and that he will be our light when we are in the dark.
 
   So today I challenge you if you are in a valley to start climbing. That you would start to seek God with every thing that you got. And My prayer for you is that you would have faith like you have never had before. That in the middle of the storm you would lift your hands to God and praise him. And that one day as you are standing at the top of the mountain praising God, that you would remember how you praised him in the valley.