Forward March

Question, what do the following three scenarios have in common? A runner in a marathon race, a soldier marching into battle, and you or I as we face the trials and tribulations of this life we are living? You might answer that they are each facing opposition, the runner has twenty-six miles of roadway in front of her as the starting pistol is fired, the soldier going into battle has an enemy to confront, and we have sickness, financial hardships, relational woes, and a whole list of worries and concerns that stand like mountains we must climb in front of us. True observation, yet not exactly the point I want to focus on today. Instead, today's Flat Tire Thought isn't about the struggles we face, but more about how we respond when we face the challenges that stand like Mt. Everest in our way. 

 

I recently read a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that was the impetus for today's shared message. As I read his charge, it fired up the coach in me and I knew I wanted to share his encouraging words through FTM. "If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." Keep moving forward, whatever you are facing in life we have options on how we will respond, but the main goal should always be to move straight ahead. 

 

A marathon runner is faced with the daunting challenge of running a 26-mile trek that forces runners to overcome both physical and mental barriers to success. The will to continue running when your mind is telling you to stop, when your lungs are gasping, and your legs feel like jelly is challenging at the least. Yet, as a runner keeps on going in the face of adversity, she reaches a plateau where unknown strength takes over and she keeps running towards the finish line. 

 

 As I think of soldiers in formation marching into battle, the command "Forward March" humbles me. Facing a life-threatening enemy, the solider decides to move forward to face his enemy without giving in to the thoughts of his own potential demise. Onward Christian Soldier!

 

In your life, just like mine, we face challenges and foes that stand before us like a mountain that has to be scaled and overcome so that our journey can continue. Marital conflicts, financial woes, health issues, or possibly some type of addiction, whatever that might be, are all prime examples of those mountains we all may be facing, but yet our challenge is to move ahead, keep going, don't stop and don't give in. 

 

The Apostle Paul faced extreme adversity throughout his walk with Christ. As he traveled and ministered Paul was imprisoned and tortured, but he kept praying and moving forward. Paul was shipwrecked and adrift at sea, but he held on and persevered. And Paul battled a health condition daily to the point of asking God to take the pain away numerous times, but all the while he kept preaching and teaching the word of God and the offer of eternal life provided by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 

 

Listen to the words of Paul as he ministered to the church in Corinth, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." II Corinthians 4:8-10. Paul's message is the same message that Dr. King expressed nearly two thousand years later, and that is the same message I hope you take away from our time together today. Whatever you are facing keep marching forward. If you run, run, but if you can't walk, crawl, or drag yourself forward, but don't give up and don't quit. Your challenges are real, the struggle is real, your enemy is my enemy and it is real, but we have a promise that we will not have to face our struggles alone. In John 14 Jesus explains to His disciples that He will never leave us alone. His spirit will abide in us and His Spirit living in us will give us the strength to carry on and persevere.

 

Whatever you are facing today, I challenge you and encourage you to never give in and never give up! "Forward March! "

 

Coach Carter