The Journey Only I Can Run

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained." (Phil 3:12-16 ESV)
As I look back on 2011 and look forward to 2012, this verse is what came to mind. What a year 2011 was...it was up and down and all around. If I were to continue to look back, I would get discouraged and frustrated, filled with hurt and pain, but instead I chose to strain forward to what is lying ahead, continue to press on for the prize He is calling me to. I can look back and remember, which is needed at times, a time of REMEMBRANCE, but I must PERSEVERE forward into this new year. A few things have struck me as the year ended....

We are called to forget what lies behind and press on to what lies ahead. However, God does call us to REMEMBER. To look back and seek those milestones in our lives from the year behind us....What did the Lord try to teach us? What events did He place in our lives good and bad to try to get our attention? If we stay where we are doing what we are doing what are we going to become in the future? The Lord does whatever He can to break us until He has our complete attention, He tries to reveal to us the things He is desiring for us to know, and unveil our eyes to the obstacles keeping us from hearing Him, but He requires us to ACT. We can not just sit and REMEMBER,we can not just HEAR, but we must ACT. In this new year, I pray I become a woman of ACTION.

One thing in scripture is the Lord is always calling His people to MOVE FORWARD, even if they are unsure of where they are to go. Abraham, Moses, Paul...all had to move forward with little knowledge of what the Lord was calling them to do. During this season and with epiphany approaching, I think of the wisemen. They had a star, and they knew it was different, and they followed it to the Christ child. They went FORWARD even when they were unsure what lay ahead. So should I, I can not live in fear of the unknown, I can not live in fear of being hurt again or being disappointed, I must move forward in FAITH, knowing that every thing in my life is to bring GLORY to the Lord. I can enter this new year with CONFIDENCE that He will RESTORE in me the JOY of His salvation and that He will CREATE in me a new heart. In this new year, I pray I become of woman of FAITH, CONFIDENCE, and JOY....not fear, worry, and anxiety.

As I move into the new year, I want my FOCUS to be on Him. I want my desire to be that He be BORN in me. I have heard this analogy multiple times through this season and I love it. I want to bear the stretch marks of my Savior, I want to know the labor pains of life, I want to make my heart Bethlehem. As a song says: "Trembling heart, somehow I believe that You chose me, I’ll hold you in the beginning, You will hold me in the end, Every moment in the middle,make my heart your Bethlehem, be born in me."I pray I become a woman who bears the stretch marks of my Savior.

My best friend and I share a common passion for music. Throughout our friendship, as we heard songs we would pass them on for the other to hear. Over the last month, the Lord has increased this sharing and deepened our relationship. As He speaks to one of us, He is speaking to the other and music has been a means of His speaking to each of us. A song she shared with me "This Journey is My Own" by Sara Groves has resonated in both our souls. How often do I seek man's approval, do I live for man, do I try to make a good impression, but pleasing the world has just broken me down. And when I stand before the Lord, I will stand ALONE. This journey of life, this race I am running is my OWN. I will be held accountable in the end, I will stand before the throne ALONE. I want to live this year for an Audience of One. I can not do it alone, no, I need accountability, I need encouragement, I need care, I need confrontation in love, but I can only run the race of my life. No one else can do what He has called me to do. I have the people in my life to support me, I have the people in my life to point me to the cross....and I have the One in my life that will carry me through the rest of my journey. It is a New Year, with new opportunities, second chances, rejuvenated relationships...but the same Faithfulness. 
Happy New Year Friends!