Tags
Related Posts
Share This
Access
With my Christmas gift money I bought an entry into the ING half marathon. It was going to be my third half marathon and my first repeat race, so I could see if I had gotten any faster than the year before. However, winter proved to be extremely hectic and the three months it takes to train for a race dwindled down to a precious few weeks and then I had mouth surgery. My recovery was longer than I expected and I found myself the Thursday before the race having trained very little and running a fever. I wanted to bail. I wanted to give my 50 reasons (excuses) for why I shouldn’t race and then sleep in that morning. I am sure it is mostly because I have a pride issue. I am extremely competitive, especially for someone who is not great at anything! And the thought of not being at my best and others looking at my results was almost powerful enough to keep my shoes in the closet. But I didn’t sleep in. I rolled out of bed at 4:30am, laced up my Nikes and decided I was just going to run for fun! I was going to go out there and enjoy the atmosphere of race day just because I could, no matter what my time ended up being. And so I did. It was a hard race and I didn’t do great, but I am glad I ran. I am glad my excuses didn’t keep my shoes on the rack and my body under the covers.
Do you ever find yourself building up excuses for why you aren’t spending time in prayer? "I am distracted and think of other things when I pray." "I just hit the ground running in the morning and can’t seem to find time to quiet myself." "My pride gets in the way of my conversation with God because I just don’t want to be that transparent, even to myself." And on and on…
On race morning I had the ticket to the starting line. I had a number with my name on it and a timing chip. I could get past the barricades and into the corrals. I had access and I almost didn’t use it, because things were a bit hard that morning. We are given access to God through prayer. We have access to the Creator of the universe. Access to the One who says, "I am." Access. And sometimes we don’t use it. Sometimes we let our million excuses get in the way. We keep our shoes in the closet. We pull the sheets over our heads and don’t take advantage of the access we have to God through prayer. Today, challenge yourself to push your excuses to the side and spend time with Him just because you can, just because you have been given access.
Access is such a great word. My wife an English expert has taught me over the years to appreciate words. She has taught me that even the sounds of words can emote emotions. Access sounds to me like a long drawn out process. I have aaaaaceeeeess to God! To me that sounds wonderful to have aaaaaaacceeeeeess to God! On this Good Friday morning I am reminded that this day was the beginning of a horrific process that has gained me aaaaaaacceeeeess to God. Thank you Jesus for doing this for us.
Jen – great insight… “My pride gets in the way of my conversation with God because I just don’t want to be that transparent, even to myself”…are our excuses not to pray just another way to refuse and reject Him? Aren’t we really saying more about what we believe or think about God (or don’t think) when we don’t pray? It is my unhealthy perspective on prayer that deprives me of those great moments with God. When will I realize He wants to give me something that I can’t receive anywhere else but in my prayer life with Him? Rather, I often think of it as empty time when I am just talking to the “air” and don’t realize the wonderful exchange that could take place if I just lay it all down before the throne of grace and the cross.
p.s. thanks for all you do for our kids..
Thx much Yen-Yen! Great words and challenge. We can be such dolts…not taking advantage of the access God gives us to Himself. God please help me. Thx again for this…and for your family and for your friendship with my family and for your heart and your raw honesty and for loving my girls and pointing them to Christ inside and outside CCC!