A man went to his doctor and told him that he hadn't been feeling well lately. The doctor examined the man, left the room, and came back with three different bottles of pills.
"Take the green pill with a big glass of water when you wake up," he said. "Take the blue pill with a big glass of water after you eat lunch. Then just before going to bed, take the red pill with another big glass of water."
Startled to be put on so much medicine, the man said, "Oh, Doc! Now you got me worried! Exactly what is my problem?"
The doctor replied, "You're not drinking enough water."
Wouldn't it be nice to take a pill to fix our problems?
Say you wanted to lose 20 pounds, and there was a pill that would make it happen overnight, wouldn't you take it?
What if there were a pill that you could take that would do the work you've been putting off? Wouldn't you swallow that one?
Or pills that would make your kids obey, you'd take the whole bottle!
Like in my joke, in life, instead of taking a magic pill we just need to get back to basics.
The truth is that when we want things to change in our lives, there is most likely a series of things that we must do to initiate a change.
If I want to lose 20 pounds, I need to put down the cheeseburger and go for a jog. If I have a list of things I need to do for work, I need to prioritize, buckle down, and get things done. If my kids are out of control, I need to better myself and learn ways to provide structure and even discipline.
There are no magic pills in our lives. If we expect our situation to change, then we will need to initiate that change.
Initiating change is true in our spiritual life. We are all on a spiritual journey. I think of it as how the Apostle Paul describes his spiritual journey.
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (CEV)
24 You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! 25 Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. 26 I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air. 27 I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others.
He says we can compare our spiritual walk to runners in a race; some are running harder than others, some have a goal in mind, others don't, some keep their bodies under control, and others aren't.
If you've ever run in a 5K, you might know what it's like to line up at the start line. It's easy to find the people there to win and those who are just there for a good time.
Well, in our spiritual life, it's just like going to a 5K. Some people are trained and are at the head of the pack; their thoughts are on the goal. But some are just in the race because their buddy made them come. So they aren't focused, and their thoughts aren't on the race.
Some Christians seem to have this Power to run strong, while others seem to be frail and barely able to stand. In part, they don't have the mind to run; they don't think they can do what others do, so they just don't try.
One of the big differences in the people with the power to run strong and those who seem to struggle is whether or not they believe they can win. Here's the great news for you today: if you are surrendered to Jesus, you're a winner! He's paid the price on our behalf. We only need to recieve this great gift and run the race we are called to live.
Choose to initiate change in your way of thinking about the situations you are facing. Start thinking like a winner, because that's what you are in Christ!
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