Admitting you have limitations is not a sign of weakness, as a matter of fact it shows strength that you can finally accommodate the thought that you are not super human or you are not in control of your life. You have been given a race that you have absolutely no control over but one you have to run. One that is not determined by others but a race that is determined by God. You have a gift that is peculiar to you and one that will fit perfectly in the grander scheme of life. Too often we find ourselves looking over the neighbor’s yard wanting what they have, wanting to do what they do, not knowing that we can never be our best whilst imitating. This is something I have had to come to terms with so I am not writing off the top of my head. If we are not careful we end up being copycats who get nowhere.
Psalm 127:1 (KJV)
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it…
…doing what the neighbour is doing? Big mistake, Run your own race!
Armed with this knowledge I recently was having a conversation with someone, trying to somehow encourage them to accept that we cannot do everything, that is definitely not how God created us and this is evidenced in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10
God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful…
Vs. 14-18
I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
We all have a part to play in the grander plan, put together by God even before the foundation of the earth was set. We absolutely cannot run someone else’s race; we have to run the race unique to us.
Today I encourage you to seek your race (purpose) and might I add it’s not a great thing it begins with working on us and knowing our position in Christ. It begins with getting our motives right and aligned with the purposes and intent of God. It begins with quieting our flesh and allowing the Holy Spirit to come through for us. It begins with yielding and praying as Jesus did “not my will but your will be done”.
I truly believe when we get into alignment with God we will live our lives in a way that not only pleases us but pleases God. Our lives will be satisfying to God as well as to us. No longer will we be living out others dreams (looking into their yard) and being copycats but we will be our own person giving others permission to be themselves and play their unique part in the grander scheme of God’s plan!
Run YOUR RACE!
Lots of love and light.