Rest and Run!

 
“I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize.  My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead.  I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done."
Philippians 3:12-14
If you are a follower of Jesus these verses contain a pivotal truth. Have you taken hold of Christ or has Christ taken hold of you? Yes, you are running a race and "struggling" in your life, but is your life firmly in the grip of the Lord or are you simply hanging on to Him? Holding on to Jesus means nothing unless He is also holding on to you. Like a little child clinging on to his father in a storm, we are safe because the Father is holding on to us. Faith is the voice that tells me I can rest in His arms in the middle of the turmoil of life.
In the arms of Jesus I can rest, but I can also run toward the goal of "being called to heaven."
After a time of running and struggling, rest is needed to do the rebuilding for more strenuous activity. I can run and struggle in the arms of Jesus in living for Him, but I can also rest in His arms. If I run and never rest I will indeed become weary, but if I rest and never run I will not grow stronger.
Jesus wants to take hold of your life, but He will only do it with your permission. Ask Jesus to take hold of your life and let you rest, run and struggle in His arms!