Ifollow Jesse Itzler on Instagram. He is a serial entrepreneur, stud athlete and motivational speaker. I saw last week he was going to run in a marathon (26.2 miles) but shared he had not run more than five miles in a really long time. That’s crazy but he had a strategy. His strategy was to run one mile at a time and multiply that times 26. He said, “I don’t know if I can run 26.2 miles but I know I can run one mile 26 times.” He called this breaking down the challenge into “digestible bites.” Not only that but “having fun” was part of his plan.
That’s probably a good strategy for Christians. Life can be hard, maybe that’s why God created a day with only 24 hours because that’s all we can really manage and then multiply that times 365. Every day is a digestible bite intended for us to enjoy. How about that for a life philosophy?
I just had a milestone birthday, and I was talking to a friend who told me the actuary tables say that one in six don’t make it to my age. The Lord has something to say about things like that. In James 4 we are told that our lives are nothing more than a “mist” —here in the morning but gone by the afternoon.
How many of us could reduce stress and anxiety if we applied our faith to our everyday life by realizing that we are fog and God decides our days and each day is a gift that we should seek His will concerning not only our attitude (joy) but also the content of our days. James 4 goes on to encourage us to determine what is God’s will before we start filling up our calendars. In other words, who are we to say, “I am going to go over here and do this.” Instead, we ask the Lord what His desires are?
Is anyone else concerned they have wasted their life by pleasing themselves and not pleasing the Lord - does that even make sense? I just read, “God is more interested in your eternal crown than your earthly comfort.”
Jeremiah 10:23 tells us that our lives are not our own. 1st Corinthians 6:19 reminds us of the same thing. So who’s drum are we marching to?
The Apostle Paul wrote about “Fighting the good fight of faith. Keeping the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) Then he mentions Jesus as judge. Yikes! Each of us will give an account for how we fought, did we satisfy ourselves or was our attitude as someone used to sing, “One day at a time sweet Jesus.” Did we wake up and pray, “Lord, what are your plans for me today? How can I serve you? What are the divine appointments you have for me today? How can I work towards Kingdom expansion today? Is this vacation part of your plan for my life? Where can I plant seeds of hope and joy and peace?”
I still have quite a few years ahead of me and when I think about leaving it all on the field for Jesus it’s kind of scary. But when I think about how God has given me today and I need to be a good steward of today, that’s a digestible bite I can wrap my mind around and by flexing my faith in the Lord I know I can handle today. And you know what? I’m going to enjoy each of these days God has given me.
He told me to tell you that.
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