Devotional:
"No ma, I need two pair of sneakers for track this year," the young girl spoke as she desperately pleaded with her mom. Her mom looked at her with a face full of disdain, "I don't see why you would need two pair of shoes, I remember when I was a kid I had to share shoes with my siblings just to go to school." The young girl rolled her eyes, " ma, it ain't the 30's no more either." "I need one pair for training and another for the race." Her mother still not getting the point decided to bend at her will and said, "well, I guess. Y'all kids keep coming up with things. I'll buy a pair and have your sister in law get the other ones."
To be real, the young girl up above is me. Trying to get my mom to support me as a high schooler was like pulling teeth. But somehow eventually, God always made things happen. But that's besides the point. Some of you like my mom may wonder, why did I need two pair of shoes? Well, the same way you once ran through life without God and then with Him? It required two different pair of shoes. It's no different here.
The shoes I trained in were these clunky Starter brand shoes my mom got from Walmart. (Click here for a picture) Besides the fact I had to run 3.5 miles for track practice daily, I had to carry the weight of these shoes around. It was purposeful because it strengthened my legs to have great speed on race day. Now my other shoes that my sister in law brought me, were these fancy racing shoes from Rogan's Shoes in Milwaukee. They were this pretty blue color and even had these detachable spikes for when I'd run indoors instead of outdoors. These shoes were nothing like my trainers, they had breathable fabric and it felt like I was running on air.
On race day, these shoes helped me run faster. How so? Because the burden of those clunky training shoes were removed. But I was able to endure longer and move faster because of the weight of those training shoes. How does this relate to your faith? It's all about endurance. Before God, you had to carry the weight of all those burdens alone, feeling slowed down and even sometimes stagnant. But when you accepted Christ into your heart, you could release all those sinful ways that kept you weighed down and the burdens of life that made you feel stuck. He came into your heart and gave you new shoes, shoes that enabled you to run the race of faith without all the extra weight.
Some of you are in a position where you have accepted Christ into your heart, but you slipped back on those old Starter clunky training shoes. You wonder why all of a sudden you feel slowed down and its simply because you slipped back on those burdens. But no worries, you have a new pair of shoes. Take off the old ones, burn them and then run the race of faith with the new shoes Christ has given you.
Scripture(s) Meditation:
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Hebrews 12:1 NKJV
“throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT
Reflection Question(s): We invite you to discuss below.
What are the situations in life that cause you to revert back to having a donkey's back? (Donkeys are known for carrying heavy burdens) What stumbling blocks can you put in place to keep you from putting on the old shoes and keeping on the new ones?
Sun'Ray💕
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