Run the Race Well.

Going at a steady pace, i was getting tired. It was my sixth lap and i needed to really focus on my breathing. The sun was about to be setting and it was a beautiful afternoon with a nice breeze. If i was going to keep going, to reach my goal i was going to have to breathe right. So, with Hillsong worship playing in my ear, i got my breathing pattern in correlation to the beat of the music. Ah! I was going to meet my goal after all- i was getting enough oxygen to keep running.

 Many times we cant run as long because we are not breathing right. As i was running, i was thinking about the importance of correct breathing technique and i had this thought- Breathing right doesn't make you run. And prayer and time studying God's word doesn't get you saved. But breathing right will cause you to run well.

I thought about how focusing on my breathing was comparable to focusing on learning from God and spending time allowing Him to form me. So, prayer and doing the things that God has called us to do will not save us, as correct breathing will not cause us to run.  But its a necessary practice for one to live a saved life well, or run a race strong. You run. You learn to breath right. You are saved. You learn to be formed by God.

So often we can distance ourselves from God or be down on ourselves for not praying enough or reading the Bible enough. Doing those things does not have any effect on His love for us, which we sometimes believe. The purpose of doing those things is not so that God will love us more, or use us more. It is in a desire to live life well. And that desire comes from ultimately wanting to know God well and know ourselves well.

As i was tiring after a couple of miles, my inhale and exhale became heavier. As i breathed in and out, i saw the process of my life. Inhaling the truth of God, who He is and who He says i am...and exhaling the lies of Satan, who he is and who he says i am.

As you see, i have a funny thought process. I look at things probably from an absurd angle. People don't always see what i see in things...but its these small thoughts that impact me in a large way. Breathing right gets us through the rough spots in the race to the finish line. And allowing God to mold us by us spending time in prayer and in His word gets us through every season and causes us to live our life well...abundantly. Run your race well.