Don't give up, just pace yourself. Daily Devotional -- August 24th, 2009

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 19, Jeremiah 45-46, 1 Corinthians 4-5

I will never forget the first time (and last) that I ran the 400 meter race. I was a pole vaulter, not a runner but because our coach needed a spot filled I was the lucky one chosen for the task. I did not have any advice or training on how to approach this race, I just knew to run as fast as I could. When the gun went off, I was feeling pretty good about myself. As I looked around me I realized I was passing everyone! Soon enough, I had a strong lead. I thought for a moment I had missed my calling! Was I meant to be an Olympic 400 meter runner and I didn’t know it? As soon as I was feeling good about myself, I got a little tired. Okay, A LOT tired. I hit a wall. I was panting and exhausted and running on empty. I watched helplessly as every last runner passed me by to reach that finish line. I crossed that line completely out of breath and with my tail between my legs.

I think the 400 meter race is a lot like life. We could achieve so much more if we were better equipped to run the race. Rather than seeking wisdom before-hand, many times we go at it on our own and experience burn-out, weariness and discouragement. As I was reading 1 Kings 19:1-9 Elijah was running for his life. He ran into the desert, sat under a tree and prayed that he would die.

(Verse 4) "But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

He was so discouraged and so weary that he felt like giving up. The most amazing part about this passage is that the Lord didn’t do anything super-spiritual - he gave him food, a drink and rest.

(Verses 5-8) "Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God."

Joyce Meyer says, "We need to keep the door closed to the enemy. Many times the door is not some big spiritual issue that we have to seek out. Many times it is some simple, practical area of our life that we have become almost too spiritual to pay any attention to...we have a practical, natural side of our lives that we have to take care of. If we don’t it will end up hurting our spiritual side."

Could it be that in making minor adjustments to our life, we could go from being burnt-out to steadfast? Could it be that if we sought wisdom before the race we could spare ourselves from discouragement and frustration? What would it look like if we chose not to quit but to instead pace ourselves?

It is the little things we take for granted that we later realize weren’t little things after all. Rest. Relaxation. Eating right. Avoiding over-commitment. Financial discipline. Balance!

I encourage you today - don’t give up, just pace yourself!

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller
　
Tomorrow's reading: 1 Kings 20, Jeremiah 47, 1 Corinthians 6