“Let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1 & 2
How do we start, keep going, and finish? “Fix our eyes on Jesus and make
Him, alone, our focus.”
Obstacles.
It seems there are so many of them. We must look to Jesus and keep our eyes on Him, or we will
be tempted to quit and give up on what He has entrusted us with – to “win the
lost” through our gifts and talents.
Some obstacles can be long periods of waiting, finances,
expectations of others, comparing our ministries to the ministries of others,
etc. We can lose sight of our own
goals if we are not careful.
In the mid 1800’s, my great, great, great grandfather,
the late Reverend Amory Nelson Chamberlin, was a missionary to the Cherokee
Indians and found himself having to face so many overpowering obstacles in his
day – even to the point of having to cut off his own frozen feet with no
anesthetic medicine or a doctor present – but he never let this discourage or stop
his work for the Lord. (The full
story of this man can be found in the Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 12, Number
1 and was written by Lon H. Eakes.)
I am so thankful for such a rich family heritage. The story of my great, great, great
grandfather amazes me, and has instilled in me a great courage to keep on going
– even with all the obstacles I find myself faced with today. With this in mind, I have determined
that my number one goal is to keep my eye on THE goal, which again, can be
found in Hebrews 12: 1 & 2.
Marla Ratliff
615-735-8233
No comments:
Post a Comment