Towards
the End
2/6/14
How
do we prepare ourselves for the ultimate game that we call life? Do
we sit back and enjoy the luxuries that are presented to us or are we using our
time wisely and getting ready for the end portion of our game? This
question is an important one for most of us breeze through life without even
batting an eyelash in preparation. The same conditions hold true in
our concerns with God and we are preparing our spiritual lives when the end
comes to our doorstep. It is imperative that we train hard and be
active so that when the end game appears we are 4th quarter
tough and prepared to face this portion of our lives.
Please
understand that I am not referring to death in this article. The
topic states “Towards the End” but it does not refer to death only to the
changing of the guard when it comes to the situations of the world. Am
I saying that the end of the world is near? Not at all, for all I
can tell there is still time remaining but why wait to begin our training for
that day. Today is a great day to begin to prepare our hearts,
spirits and minds for these times that will begin to unfold in a short
time. Am I trying to scare you into believing that a catastrophic
event is about to occur? Not at all, but one could happen
soon. There are many “what if” questions and thoughts that are
floating around and some of these may occur. So why not be prepared
just in case?
I
began my football career in Hope, Arkansas. Some career, it never
really took off but I enjoyed the experience very much. I continued
my football playing all the way through my high school years and because of my
height or lack of it my football days ended there. To this day I
remember my football practices and games and what they taught me along the
way. One portion of the practices really stands out to me and if you
ask any person who has played a sport a similar remembrance will be spoken.
I
remember each day when practice began we would always begin the session with a
mile run. I completely understood this since for the most part our
day was filled with sitting around in class and really not having too much
physical activity during the morning and early afternoon times. For
most of us we did not enjoy the run but we only complained slightly for we all
felt better afterwards. We were now prepared for the practice and
were ready to learn something about ourselves and about the upcoming week’s
opponent.
Our
practices were intense and complete and gave us a thorough workout both on and
off the field. Our preparation was not strictly on the field either,
for our coaches would pull us aside and give us instructions on how to play the
game and how to block number 56 when he is lined up on the left side of the
defensive line. Both aspects of the game were being taught to us,
the physical and mental portions. Our coaches drilled into our heads
the importance of preparation on both levels and it was very clear to us that
they were correct. However, getting us to perform correctly,
adequately and continuously on both levels was a different story. But
we were taught correctly and eventually grew into the game on all levels.
It
is these types of practice situations that all players accept and most enjoy
because we expect them to occur in this order. Yes there were times
that we made huge mistakes and had to run extra miles in order for us to
understand what we did or did not do correctly; this too was a part of the
practice. After a hard practice day the coaches would gather all of
us around and would conduct a final team meeting before we were let go for the
day. The meeting would last for about ten minutes or so and plans
were made for the next practice. The team would then form a huddle sing
the fight song or some other motivational chant and then have one final
combined yell. All of us were tired and ready to get out of out
uniforms and go to the house for our evening activities, some of us had
parents, friends or other family members there ready to pick us up. Then
the most dreaded words came from our head coach.
Let’s
run a mile before you leave the field or some other similar phrase would be
heard and our hearts sunk and the complaints arose. So off we went
around the track four times before we were allowed to leave the field. A
mile after all of this work was really a bummer and I know that many times I
grumbled each step that I took but I did exactly what I was told and completed
the laps before I was able to leave. How many times I asked myself,
in anger of course, of why it was so important that we run after practice; we
were already tired. J
A
short side note before I go on and it concerns the teammates that I had played
with during my football tenure. Many of the players on the teams
that I played on had been playing together for most of their young lives. Not
many of them had moved in from out of town or had just started playing just a
short time before. Most of them had been born in that local area and
knew each other from times even before school. While I was accepted
with no problems I did understand just how hard it is to confluence yourself
into an already established steady flow. This made things a little
bit tougher for me and my performance had to show it. My training
sessions did not end when practice was completed; my mental and physical
conditioning still had some work to be done. I knew that I had to be
totally prepared on both levels and this preparation required a little bit of
extra effort. My only problem was that while I understood this
concept I really was not motivated to do it.
At
the time my feet were moving along the four laps around the track I was not
really in the frame of mind to think about why our coach was making us finish
the practice with a another mile run. This mindset of mine actually
proved to everyone that my coach was correct and that we still had many hours
of learning to come before we were ready to be considered fit for a game. Has
anyone ever watched a professional player or any other sports player simply run
out of gas? This is such a painful moment to watch because that
player or team cannot do one thing right and their opponents run right over
them and do not stop for anything. Then there are those matches or
games that the physical conditioning is not in question but one can tell that
the players or team is not focused and it seems like their minds are somewhere
else. Both of these examples are part of conditioning and it is important
that when time for us to show up and do our jobs that we are prepared on all
levels just not one or two of them.
My
family and I were going to a town a short distance away from our home a few
weeks ago when my wife began to talk about one of her friends that she knew in
high school. Her friend ran cross country and as long as she knew
him he was constantly in training. He prepared for his races on a
continual basis and was seen running almost every day. She
remembered talking with him about going to the state championship cross country
race and how he was preparing for it.
For
those of you that do not know my wife she grew up in a small town in south
central Wyoming, you know, where the deer and antelope play. The
area around where she grew up was wide open yet there were places where trees
were present, right beside a small river or creek. Her friend would
train in these areas since he knew that when the state championship cross
country race would commence its path would take them to these places by the
creeks and rivers just to make the race a bit more challenging for the
runners. Now this is where his story becomes interesting in that he
was far ahead of us football players because of the way he was thinking at the
time.
His
mentality contained a plan to make his training harder now instead of waiting
until the end of the season. First off he understood his position in
his sport and he knew his abilities and conditioning status. Secondly
he knew what type of courses that had been chosen for the championship runs
because he had participated in them in the past. Thirdly, he made
his training more difficult early so that when the end of the season came, his
level of conditioning would be adequate enough to effectively complete the
chosen course. But it was how he prepared for this course that was a
stroke of genius and one that we really should heed in our lives, both physical
and spiritual.
My
wife stated that her friend would run down by the rivers and creeks while he
was completing his training sessions. Now this was not the
interesting part about what he did but it sets the stage for how he trained and
the conditions that he voluntarily placed himself into. While running
official races all high school participants were required to wear the
appropriate attire when competing in races. This would include
proper clothing with the appropriate school logos and shoes. All
runners understand that having the correct fitting shoes is a must because if
one does not then their feet will not perform adequately.
While
the rules for running and participating in a school sponsored event were
clearly stated there were no restrictions on how a person could train for an
event. This means that an individual could train all year round for
their sport if he / she wished. It also provided no boundaries of
what that person could wear during their personal training sessions. My
wife’s friend would run down by the rivers and creeks but would do so with
boots on his feet and not the normal running shoes. What an
idea!! Yes it placed him in a little bit more of a risk category but
he understood the risks and took them into account yet decided to run in them
anyway.
Not
only did this help him prepare for his scheduled events but it also helped out
his conditioning early enough that when the state championship race was run he
would have an added advantage due to the fact that his feet would be in a more
comfortable position than in his training sessions. How more can a
person be prepared for a specific event than he was? This took
planning and knowing about what to expect from the challenge that is set before
you or might be set before you in the future. It also sets for a
great example about knowing our enemy and how we need to be prepared for these
types of events in our lives as well.
On
most mornings when I come to work I take the same path to get to my
workplace. I first have to go to the main lab to pick up my controls
and any other paperwork or notes for the day. To get to the lab I
have to pass through the emergency room waiting area. On most
mornings as I pass this waiting area I hear a quiet voice singing. The
sounds are coming from one of our housekeepers who I have known for over 20
years. Her voice is a constant and is present in the same area every
day that she works. Most mornings while I am waltzing through I
cannot understand the words of the songs that she is singing but on those few
occasions when I can understand the words, they are words from songs that many
of us have heard in church.
Those
words that come from her lips are another example that a person has prepared
herself for what may occur for her daily journey. The words are of hope
and acknowledgement that there are dangers all around us and that she
understands their purpose along with the truth that God knows about our lives
at all times. The words have special meaning to her children whether
they know it or not for they are a prayer of protection and life all wrapped up
into a gentle song about hope and truth. This means that she has
prepared her children in the best way possible and that no matter what occurs
in their day, God is always with them. It also sounds an alarm for
everyone around her immediate work area that she has a pure heart and is
listening to what God is saying to her life. Such preparedness
should be on every set of lips of those who attend church but both God and I
know that this is not the case.
I
have written a few times that our enemy knows us very well and is right now
planning further attacks on our lives. I have also mentioned that it
is very important that we understand this concept and to make sure that we are
prepared for each of his attacks. Some of us understand that Satan
is on a leash and that he cannot do anything without God’s permission; an
entirely different article subject to come. But it brings into light many
things concerning our lives that we know about or should know about in order to
defend ourselves against these attacks. Our enemy knows us enough to
unleash devastating personal attacks so why should we sit back and take them
without any knowledge of his plans? We must be prepared both
physically and spiritually for these attacks for if we believe that they are
not going to come we rend ourselves way out of touch with the truth.
We
all understand that if we are not mentally prepared for a job interview we will
surely perform terribly. We also understand that if we do not
thoroughly prepare for a final exam that we will not do very well either. While
we choose not to study for tests and prepare for physical jobs we should know
that our inner beings and spiritual lives have well more at stake and should be
well aware of what is coming and going. I recently wrote about the
omnipotence of God and in that article I stated that we humans like to place
God in a box. What I did not mention is that we have the same
concept about our enemy and that we place his authority levels in a contained
box. We also tend to forget that our enemy is a spirit being and has
full access to our lives if we choose to keep those doors open; in your defined
contained box if you wish.
While
our enemy is on a chain his potential destructive powers upon our lives can be
devastating if we refuse to understand his capabilities. As in everyday
sporting events we cannot successfully and honestly believe we can win it all
if we are not totally prepared for the event. Our spiritual conditioning
is just as important as our physical conditioning and should be taken just as
serious, even more in my opinion. Most of us have encountered this
spiritual conditioning as mundane or boring and we tend to lax our conditioning
habits when we approach things in this manner. This state of heart
is very dangerous and we need to understand that the longer we take this stance
and have this mindset our enemy is preparing a massive strike upon our beings.
The
only way proven to be effective enough to defend our spiritual lives is too
well aware of the contents that the Bible has. The Bible is a well
defined book and instructions guide that when understood, its meaning we can
prepare ourselves for any attack. We will also be able to let many
others know and understand how to defend their lives as well all while
completing the mission that Jesus set forth for His church. For
those of you who believe that you know everything about God’s Word, guess what
you don’t!! For those of you who read God’s Word everyday and feel
like you are above everyone else? You are not!! It is these types of
people whose minds and hearts are actually closed to the message of God and
will be the first ones to fall when times get tough. There is a huge
difference between education and wisdom and it is of dire importance that we
understand this concept. When we come to the belief that God will do
or will not do something because we do not believe in it, then congratulations
you have reached the top of the enemies list to be whacked, lied to and made a
fool of. Not to mention being the epitome of a self centered human
being.
My
father has been in the ministry for over 50 years of his life and to this day
he still admits with a fearful smile on his face that he does not know anything
about God. Not that he has not been studying or wanting to know more
about God but because God continues to show him things about Himself that blows
my dad’s mind. Now, if God continues to show my dad things after
more than 50 years of studying God, what makes a person believe that he / she
knows what God is totally about. The Bible is about human life and
everything that they encounter, it also serves as a history book in order for
us to get things right the first time instead of having to repeat
history. It is also a book about the future if we do not heed to the
laws that God has divinely established. The Bible explains all of
our problems and the true reasons why things occur, yet in every country
present on this earth billions of people totally reject this book of life and
throw its contents to the wayside.
God
continues to call us for a reason. He has provided us with a book
that explains how to defend ourselves and advance His truth at the same
time. Once you study the Word of God with a heart that is open to
God and His ways, everything about this world will fade away. By studying
God’s Word we are like my wife’s friend who is training in extra-ordinary
conditions so that he will be prepared for when the real trials begin. Repent
and allow God to restore your heart and spirit in such a manner that you can
begin to defend yourself properly once again.
DLB
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