My Morning Run
I normally run early in the morning outside. However, with these frigid temperatures, I’ve been exercising inside. Although we have a treadmill at hand, I still hadn’t been able to run on it. Our garage is big, but not quite that big to lay out the entire treadmill when our cars were both in the garage. However, we did a little rearranging and yay! I was finally able to run. I was so happy, and then quickly humbled. To my shock, I am much slower than I had thought.
Back in the day, I used to run a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. Of course, this was all BK (Before Kids). But I would run consistently up to 50 miles a week and absolutely loved it. And my pace was very consistent. It took me forever to get to that point, but eventually, I was just able to run at the same pace for miles upon miles.
Fast forward a couple decades (ahem) and 10 kids later, and I just found out I’m consistent alright. Consistently slow. My word. I felt like I was going at a decent clip on those morning runs, but getting on that treadmill gave me a big reality check. I’m not where I thought I was. Not even close.
Illustration for Life
And that made me think about the fact that this is a great illustration for life. We can be cruising through life, thinking we’re pretty OK. We’re actually better than OK! We give to the church, we have regular bible study, we pray often. We’re golden. But then we get a reality check.
Sanctifiers
I’ve been known to say that our children are little sanctifiers. Another way to put it, they’re little reality checkers that keep us humble. They can expose our sin without much effort. Maybe it’s when a child pushes you right over your limit and, for example, you’re yelling at them to stop yelling. That ever happen to you, or is it just me?
Or maybe it’s those darn clueless drivers! It can try our patience to the max when there’s a car in front of you who is driving way too slow and you’re way too late. What in the world is that person doing? And then you realize it’s an elderly man who’s apparently lost. Whoops. Sorry Mr. Sanctifier.
Books
Books can often give us reality checks too. I’ll never forget reading about Brother Yun, and how he wouldn’t ask God to remove the many burdens he and his church had to carry. Instead, they would all pray for stronger backs. What a reality check! How often have I chosen to complain and get frustrated over my burdens rather than asking the LORD for strength to carry them?
Word of God
Of course, the Word of God is the ultimate reality check. There are too many examples to count, but one who sticks out is Paul. He talks about this world having “momentary and light afflictions” (2 Corinthians 4:17). He wasn’t talking about mean tweets. This wasn’t about getting canceled. This was getting shipwrecked, stoned, beaten with rods and whips, rejected over and over again just for a few examples. Those were his momentary and light afflictions. So convicting!
I love how Ray Comfort sheds light onto this subject. He uses the 10 commandments to show how we may THINK we are good and doing just fine, thank you very much. But when there’s just a little bit of probing, he exposes through the commandments that we’re not. Hell’s Best Kept Secret talks about how Comfort shares the gospel. He doesn’t start with the good news. He starts with the bad. We’re not nearly as good as we think we are – OUCH reality check. BUT, praise God, this puts us in the perfect position to receive the good news of Christ!
Welcome Reality Checks
Not all of you will run for exercise. The way I’m feeling right now with my sore joints (my pride refused to go at my slower pace knowingly and now I’m paying for it), I’m not sure I’d recommend it anyway! But the point is that we need to have regular reality checks, whether that’s physical or spiritual.
In other words, don’t run away from the uncomfortable reality checks. We have a tendency of coasting and doing things the easiest way possible. Even when we think we’re doing well, we need others in our lives to challenge us. At least, I know I do! Sometimes those “others” are in books or God’s Word, other times, those “others” are found in our fellow Believers. Whatever the LORD decides to use in our lives, I pray we make the time and effort to be open to listen.
Click on the images below to purchase “The Heavenly Man” by Brother Yun or “Hell’s Best Kept Secret”!
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