The Race of Life – Tactics 3 and 4 – Breaking Away!

Posted by Buck Jacobs on Nov 26th, 2009 | 1 comment home title

Every race has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the race of life we enter the starting blocks and sprint out when we join the Master’s team and receive our Trainer. We are off and running from that moment and, using tactics 1 – Develop and fight to Hold the Eternal Perspective of Life and 2 – Develop and Fight to Build Intimacy with Jesus Christ we get a good start. In the middle distance of our race, as we encounter the snares and entanglements that our opposer places in our way, we need to build our strength and skill in applying Tactics 3 and 4.

Tactic 3 is to Develop and Fight to Maintain Self-Discipline. We can not continually allow ourselves to indulge in the secret pleasure or sin that will trip us up and cause us to stumble sooner or later. Self-mastery through the application of the power of the Spirit of Jesus and our identification and co-crucifixion with Him is the key to the pressing back selfishness, self reliance, self service, self worship and all the other ugly manifestations of the self in our lives. The refocus on serving others from serving ourselves that will define success in our race requires self discipline. Self discipline is a fruit or result of our Trainer’s presence and without it finishing well is truly impossible.

Does this mean that we have to struggle against the temptations to step off the track or look away from our goal and never give in to them? Yes it does. Does it mean that if we stumble – we fail? No, it does not, but it does mean that we can’t give in or give up. Our part is to not quit. Our Master has already run the race and ripped all the snares and entanglements to pieces for us and our Trainer will use His manual to get us through them but we have to do our part and not quit. If we stumble He will help us up and back onto the track, if we stagger He will hold us steady, but we can’t stop running. No matter how hard it is, or how long it takes, or how many times we fail, we have to fight against our flesh and the temptations to self-indulgence that come against us and press on. Only God and we know what those things are that reach out to us. Secret lusts, pride in ourselves, excesses in the use of things that we know we should be moderate in or not use at all like maybe alcohol or rich food, jealousy, envy, resentment against others…whatever. God and we know what it is and, if we would finish well, we will finish with it either defeated or still being fought off. We can’t give in! We have to resist! And, if we do, and never give up, we will win. We will win because He won!

Our Trainer urges us to use tactic 4.

Tactic 4 is Develop and Fight to Maintain Open and Accountable Relationships. Our opposer works in darkness, he is the champion of darkness, he just loves it! The darkness in our lives is composed of those things we just spoke about in #3, the secret sins and pleasures of the flesh that we allow ourselves after God has shown us that they are wrong. Hiding thse things never works. Hiding them always poisons our well, spoiling those things dearest to us, or is brought into the light bringing shame on us. We hide them out of fear or pride. The sad thing is that once brought into the light they lose their power. Light always overcomes darkness, darkness flees from light. Our Master said through His friend John, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have true fellowship and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness.” Can you imagine running a race in the dark? Of course not. Trying to run in the dark would be a disaster. We couldn’t tell where the track was or where to go. We would run into things and hurt ourselves, or stumble and fall. We would easily be disoriented and go the wrong way. If we would finish well we need to run in the Light.

Running in the light means living in open and honest relationships with our lives inspected honestly by others. Of course we can’t live like this with all others, at least not at first, but, unless we have people in our lives that we are truly open with, and that we are relating to in such a way that our weaknesses are disclosed and our secret fears and sins open and brought into the light, then they will be the very things that will be used against us to hinder our race.

Having open and accountable relationships with others that we love and trust is essential, a real key to abundant life, and leads to a great race! Tactics 5 and 6 to follow soon!

(to be cont’d)

One Response home title

Jesse Serrin says:

December 19, 2009 at 4:41 AM

I really like what you wrote here – it’s well-written. Thanks for posting this. As someone who has struggled with an addiction myself, I really appreciate what Craig Ferguson has to say about it. Click here if you’d like to check out my site. Have a good week!