Tag: walks

Greetings, Visitors and New Beginnings Family! Pour yourself a cup of coffee if you want, then pull up a chair for the latest edition of Coffee with Gary. Today’s blog is a follow-up to the previous blog entitled, “An Excellent Suggestion.”

In a previous blog, I talked about the unnecessary obstacles to running our race within the context of Hebrews 12:1-3. In this blog, I’ll talk about the necessary obstacles in our path and how to overcome them to finish our race and obtain the prize.

On a recent walk, my wife and I faced two separate obstacles to finishing our predetermined course. In both instances, we needed to walk home, pause Runkeeper, and take care of the problems that unexpectedly arose.

Now I’m the kind of person that likes rhythm. Anything that gets in my way from start to finish tends to upset me. However, based on my experiential knowledge of the course, we finished with the same mileage as the previous day. Furthermore, we finished in enough time for me to watch one of my favorite TV westerns!

Preparation, through familiarity, helped us to overcome the unexpected but necessary obstacles we faced to finish our walk.  Another example of preparedness is our family budget.  Adherence to a budget helps us to meet unexpected financial demands.

By telling His disciples to expect tribulations in this world, Jesus prepared them for what was to come (John 16:33). However, Jesus also encouraged His disciples to “take heart” because He has overcome the world. Thus, I refer to these tribulations as necessary because they are a normal part of the Christian life. Examples of these can include persecution, temptation, financial peril, sickness, death, COVID-19, isolation, and social upheaval, to name a few.

What else can we do to prepare ourselves for tribulation? The first step to preparation is an experiential knowledge of God. Knowledge of God comes by the repeated reading and practice of God’s Word. Then by faith, we need to take God at His Word. Many of the tribulations we face have specific promises attached to them to comfort us. For instance, when God heals us, we know that our healing comes by the stripes on Jesus’s back (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). Other promises tell us that God will meet our needs (Philippians 4:19). We also know that we will never have to face more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Finally, for us to endure tribulation, we have as our example, Jesus, who blazed a trail for us to follow. Consider Hebrews 12:2 and the path set before Jesus. Verse 2b tells us of the obstacle (cross) standing in between Jesus and His joy. By enduring the cross and scorning its shame, Jesus overcame death to sit at the right hand of the throne of God on the other side of the cross.

Likewise, with our eyes set on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, let us endure the temporary tribulations of this life. Lastly, Hebrews 12:3 instructs us to consider all that Jesus went through so that we will not grow weary and lose heart. Jesus followed the path set before Him to claim His joy, and through Jesus, so can we.

Your fellow pilgrim in looking for a country of our own (Hebrews 11:13-16),

Gary