day three. finishing strong.

Today I got to tell my story from Highlands College Expedition for a video that is promoting the "iCan Strength Bracelets". I really hate being in front of the camera, but I told my home sponsor that I would do it. He's done so much for me, I really couldn't say no. 

At one point, one of the guys recording me asked me to explain how I felt when I realized that I could do all things through Christ. 

I honestly didn't know what to say. It was so hard to put that moment into words. 

It was an overwhelming feeling of love and grace. Knowing for the first time in my life, truly believing that I have a Daddy in Heaven who believes in me, encourages me, is cheering me on, and gives me the power to do anything and everything. "Strength to conquer anything"...like the bracelet says. I have always believed in other people, but never in myself. In that moment, when I reached the top of that rock, the fear of not being good enough was put to death and the Spirit of God breathed His power and life back into that area of my heart that had been dead and hopeless for so long. 

Have you ever thought about that that verse really means? 

Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." 

Let me tell you what it doesn't say. It doesn't say, "I can do all things, except..." or, "I can do all things, but..."

No no no. It says "I can do ALL things, through Christ who gives me strength." 

I looked up the Greek original meaning of the word "all" in this passage, and you know what it means? 

ALL. 

With Jesus inside of you, there is nothing you can't do. Nothing. 

I was talking with Sam today and he said "Don't ever let anybody tell you that you can't. Not even yourself. You can." 

The word "can't" shouldn't even be part of a Christ follower's vocabulary. For real. There's literally nothing that you can't do. 

When I was running a half marathon a couple weeks ago, my mind said "I can't do this." My spirit man said, "You've got this. Jesus finished strong so that you can finish strong. You can do all things." Guess what? I finished that marathon. I ran 11 miles and walked the other two. I've never ran that far in my entire life, but Jesus gave me the strength. I had so many moments along the way where I wanted to give up. I would say things like, "I can't take another step. It hurts too much. I'm not gonna finish." I told satan to suck it and I kept running through the pain and discomfort. 

I had a moment during the last mile where I wanted to turn in. I stood there feeling like giving up, like I couldn't go on. Then Pastor Mark and Pastor Hayes drove by and gave me that one boost of encouragement. That one, "You're doing so well. I'm so proud of you. You can do this. You're almost there." And that gave me the drive to finish strong. I realized in that moment that life isn't made in the easy moments, its made in the difficult moments. the times when you feel like you can't take another step. When you have no strength left. When you're in so much pain you feel like collapsing. Its made in the moments where you want to give up, but keep going because life with Jesus is all about finishing strong. If we don't finish strong, we sell ourselves short. Jesus was loyal to us and He finished strong for us, even to the point of dying the most painful death in history...so what really is there in this world that we couldn't overcome and finish strong? 

Its always the most difficult in the last sprint. That last mile was the hardest part of the race. I had to keep going otherwise I would have sat down and given up. There was no way I was going to give up. It was not an option. I walked and got to where I could see the finish line...and my family was there, cheering me on. I sprinted as fast as I could and crossed that line, giving everything I had and holding nothing back. I finished that race strong and chose to listen to my Daddy who said "You've got this. Let me empower you." 

The same is for us in life. We have a Father and all of the people who have gone before us and finished their races, standing at the finish line, cheering your name, encouraging you, going wild with every win and success. Every failure, they are shouting "Get back up! You can do this! Try again! You're almost there!" They're waiting for you to cross the finish line. 

And when we cross that finish line we get to hear the most beautiful words of all time, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have finished your race." 

Finish strong. Be loyal to Jesus as He is loyal to you. Know that you can do all things. Strength to conquer anything. 

During the race, I had God teach me a lesson in humility. 

I ran the entire race alone, which was fine by me. But I got to a point where it was about the last two miles and I was right behind this girl Jessi, and right in front of my best friend, Liz. Well, Liz and I had a little falling out for the past about two months. I was hurting, hot, wanting to not be running anymore, I was angry at her for leaving me in the dust with no explanation, and I was absolutely not going to let her beat me. No way in hell was I going to finish behind Liz. It just wasn't going to happen. I would look back every couple minutes to monitor her pace and see if I could afford to walk for a minute, being very strategic in my movements. 

I heard out of nowhere God say to me, "Let her finish ahead of you." 

"Excuse me, God?" 

"Let her go ahead of you." 

"No. You're crazy. Absolutely not. I'm going to beat her." 

"No, you're going to let her finish ahead of you." 

"Why in the world would I do that?"

Every verse about humility came rushing in my head in that moment. "Consider others better than yourselves. Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up." 

"Ugh. Okay, God. Fine. I get it." 

I swallowed my pride, slowed down, and let Liz finish ahead of me. I finished exactly 3 minutes behind her. It was 3 minutes of humility and grace that I will never forget. I let her get the prize of finishing before me. Then, I hated it. Now, I see the beautiful lesson that God was trying to teach me. To value others above myself. To empower other people to finish their races, even though I may want to finish first...its all about relationships and empowering others to do well. That's a part of leadership. We lead by serving others and seeing them fulfill their God given potential.