Daily devotional, April 6, 2024 Run to Him
“I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins."
Isaiah 43:25
Some 20 years ago, I joined my first fun run. It was fun and exciting. Running with my friends, being in a tree lined oval and seeing greeneries amid buildings, and just testing my strength and endurance to make it to the finish line of that three-kilometer race.
As followers of Jesus, we are running a race everyday. Race towards our sanctification — of being Christ-like and being the person God wants us to be. Like any race, there are a lot of external factors that could affect our performance. The route, the weather that day, the rules of the race, as well as our gear. In our race to Christ-likeness, our personal situations, people around us, as well as our goals and values could affect how we run the course.
However, what is most important is what is inside of us. We should have what it takes to make it to the “finish line.”
Part of knowing what it takes to make it to the finish line is knowing in our hearts that we can make it to the finish line because God has given us the grace to do so. That no matter what happens during the race, we can always pick ourselves up and move on.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2
And so when we fall down and stumble in our journey towards being Christ-like let us remind ourselves that we should go on and RUN TO HIM instead of RUNNING AWAY FROM HIM. We have the natural tendency of feeling guilty and ashamed when we fail to be good, and so we tend to shy away from the Lord. But He invites us to come to Him, to continue coming to Him as we work on improving our character and tap on His strength.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Corinthians 12:9-10
When we dash our feet and fall on the ground, the Lord calls us to move on and do not stay stuck on the ground. To not dwell on our mistakes, and just keep on trying. He reminds us that we have been given the grace to be in His presence through Jesus. That no amount of effort to be righteous will be enough to face God, but since Jesus died for us, His righteousness is what God sees in us. We can come to Him.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God."
Romans 5:8-9
When we get lost, Jesus calls us to get back to the right path and continue running the race. That we break the cycle of guilt and shame that the enemy puts upon us so that we will be too ashamed to run to Jesus when we fail. The Lord has promised that He is faithful enough to forgive and forget our transgressions as long as we confess it to Him and repent on it.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
Let us always remember that the Lord renews His mercies every morning, and that He forgets about our transgressions. Let us not listen to the jeers from the crowd, instead turn our ears towards the voice of Jesus, Who keeps on encouraging us to run towards Him.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Hebrews 12:1-17 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: When you fall back into your old cycle of sinning do you run towards Jesus or run away from Him?
Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for inviting us to run towards you. I love you with all my heart and your assurance that you will accept me for what I am, and your invitation to me to follow you no matter what is an opportunity I would like to take in this lifetime. Be with me by Lord as I take this journey, strengthen my faith, and help me endure. I want to be with you always, and I want to spend eternity with you. Amen.
