“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 NLT
“You can do anything that you set your mind to! Last night I completed my second leapfrog 5k. I did it in 2hr 23min which was 30 min faster than last year…. I am sore today but it was worth it. Now I get to watch my amazing bride Gretchen Barnes run her very first 1/2 marathon!!” Those were the words my dear friend Daniel Barnes posted early Saturday morning, the day after he did the seemingly impossible. This army veteran completed his second 3.1 mile race on prosthetic legs at the Friday night race I’m blessed to direct. Along with some other friends, I had the honor of walking the final mile of the course with him in 2022 before watching him cross the finish line. And while that race was exceedingly difficult for him and beyond what most people could tolerate, 2023’s race held even more hurdles. Four months ago, Daniel had an extensive surgery to remove a bone growth from what remained of his right leg. He not only had to learn to walk again but had a spot that wasn’t healing properly, which prompted his doctor to strongly advise Daniel to not walk the 5k. “Guess what?” He also wrote. “I walked it! I have learned that with the King of kings on your side you can do anything!” Do you just love that or what?
And you know, the positive mindset that got Daniel to the finish line despite the intense pain he was experiencing is the mindset that every believer needs to have. You see, the Christian life is not an easy one. There will always be tests, trials, suffering and struggles. But we can manage these experiences the same way we battle thoughts telling us to give up as we strain to complete a hard race… by training our minds to think about “what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable… things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” In other words, we replace the lies and words of the enemy flooding our minds with the words of the Bible and what God says is true. This will give us the mental grit to battle the worst hardships, and to stay in the fight during prolonged times of adversity.
So mentally train to fix your thoughts on good and godly things my friend. Especially when your mind wants to focus on the negative. This will not only give you the staying power to keep running the race but will give you the stamina and resolution to continue following Jesus despite the persecution and pushback that is sure to come as we draw nearer to the return of Jesus.
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the tools we need to run the race marked before us. Jesus clearly told us that we would have trouble in this world but that we should take heart since He has already overcome the world. Help us to think about true and honorable things such as this when impure and negative thoughts rise up in our minds Lord. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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