Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Hebrews 12:1, NIV
Turning My Page: God’s Formulas for Complicated Circumstances
Daniel tossed his paper in frustration, ” I just don’t get it! There are no math sample problems like this one, and I have no idea how to do it.”
“Want my help?” I smirked.
“This is way beyond you. There is no way you can help me,” He teased.
“Wanna bet?”
Looking at Daniel’s math problem, I saw that he was right. I had no idea the formula’s meaning or purpose, but I knew he did, so I began asking questions.
“What is the order for solving the problem?”
“That’s the problem. Those rules don’t work on this one.”
“Really? What are you trying to solve for?”
He threw up his hands. “Pi. This isn’t helping me.”
I pressed in. “What is the first thing you must do to the equation?”
Reluctantly, Daniel looked at the problem again. “Oh, well, I can move the h over here, thus eliminating the h. Oh, that was the piece I was missing.”
Then, he rattled off the rest of the process and solved the equation, even plugging numbers into it and seeing that it worked.
I may not know how to do complex math problems, but I do know what gets him stuck because it is the same thing that frustrates me.
Steps.
The more complex the problem, the more steps there are, and sometimes, I need to narrow my vision and ask the question. What is the first step?
A runner told me, “Stop focusing on the finish line and start breaking the course into sections.” I have to make it to this point and then the next. The first time I tried it, I was surprised that I made it to the finish line at the fastest time and didn’t stop for a break.
I tend to start the problem overwhelmed, whether in math or life. It looks so big. No one else has this problem. God is teaching me that the guesswork is taken out when I follow his path. Right now, I am chipping away at problems with my health. I ask, “How can I glorify God with healthy physical habits?” I am almost 100 lbs over a healthy weight. I’ve tried weight loss before and failed; my body has so many things breaking down that keep me from exercising, etc. When I focus on the problem, I forget that there are solid steps—steps others have taken before me— that I can take in faith no matter my circumstances.
I don’t like steps and often don’t want to do them. They take too long, and there has to be a shorter route. But when I follow the race marked out for me, sin doesn’t trip me up, and when I follow Jesus, I have never been disappointed.
The steps of Christianity do not change. Here are some examples:
- “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV).
- “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5 ESV).
- “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2, ESV).
There are many more, but I utilize these crucial ones as my foundation. When I return to my starting point, my relationship with Jesus, I catch when I have steered off course more quickly. Scripture renews my spirit and keeps me focused on the finish line because God has already marked the race out for me.
Turning Your Page
No matter where you are in your race of faith, you can stop, access resources, see the crowd of witnesses (those who have gone before us and testify that we are on the right path), and look for the markers of the course. There is prep for the faith, a team to develop, and scripture gives us well-laid-out steps. This is the starting line if you haven’t yet accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
Sin is a tangled mess, but salvation is not complicated. Believe in Jesus. That is it. Start with belief, and God will train us to run the race with perseverance, faithfulness, and love. Support the other runners around you and finish well. I am in the race with you. And if I finish ahead of you, know I’m cheering you on. I’ll be the one with the bouncing ponytail, shouting and clapping in celebration! Take the first step. Believe in the one who gave up his life for you.
Lord, I want to run this race with perseverance. I long to finish well, but many obstacles are in my way. Strengthen me, show me your trustworthy ways so that I can finish this life well. Amen
For Further Reading:
Patience Grows Love in the Petri Dish of Suffering
Sacred Scars by Dr. Michelle Bengtson
