Found Faithful

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."
1 Cor.9:24


"Don't give up
Don't give in
If you don't quit
You win"
-Misty Edwards


This is what the Lord says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the lord.  
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  
"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
Jer.17:5-8

"I want to run the race,
I want to keep the faith
Help me win the prize
Of the knowledge of You
I want to be found faithful
I want be found steady
I want to be found faithful ... Until the end
Don't want to be ashamed
The day I see your face, God
Keep my footsteps firm
Hold me in your grace
I want to be found faithful"
-Found Faithful
Justin Rizzo

I have met so many people whom I have heard say things like , "I used to be a Christian", or "I used to go to church, but then this happened, or that happened, and my faith was shattered." My heart aches for these; I have been there, where I felt like walking away, throwing in the towel, checking out. I truth is that there was I time that I had walked away from my faith, even though I still showed up the church . I had stopped running the race. But why? Because life wasn't "working out" the way I thought it should, according to my plans, and my definition of what "good" is? Does the pot tell the potter how it will be shaped? We need to remember who we are- and who our God is. Jeremiah says that "blessed is the man whose confidence is in the Lord, but cursed is the man who trusts in people"...
Run the race with steadfastness, don't quit- this is a marathon, not a sprint...God is more than able to keep your footsteps firm and on course. Just keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and not on circumstances. We will win the prize, He will be waiting for us at the finish line.