Sin will take you further than you want to go, Keep you longer than you want to stay, And take more than you were ever willing to give.

Unknown

Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.

1 Corinthians 9:24-26

What race do you run? The rat race? The money race? The prestige race? Do you run God's race? Do you grab hold of your purpose and run the path God has laid out for you? I pray you do. This scripture just touched my heart in such a powerful way. When I read those words "with purpose in every step", it made me think. Do I run God's race with purpose in every step? I'm not sure. I hope I do. It's made me realize that I need to run this race carefully, planning each and every step with God's guidance. I don't want to miss any punches.

"Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step."

1 Corinthians 9:24-26a

Do you run this race of life with "purpose in every step"? I just love that phrase, "purpose in every step." It says so much is just those four words. Do you live your life on your own terms, or on God's terms? Do your steps have purpose, or are you just running to keep up with everyone else? Is there purpose in every step? I pray there is.

"Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble."

Andrew Murray

"Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God's work. Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away."

1 Corinthians 7:30-31