I know yesterday’s devotional was about living in the supernatural power of God, but—God is making it clear to me that I am living far below my potential, so—He has me digging in deep on this subject. He gave me an image of the great thoroughbred, Secretariat, working as a common plow horse. This led me to think about what would have happened if this great racehorse had decided to not race with the record-breaking passion and power that launched him into the horse-racing history books. By all accounts he did what he was born and bred to do. But, what if he had not? All his breeding and the sacrifice of his master would have been wasted.
Can you imagine the glory that would have been lost if Secretariat had become anything less than a race horse?
Ah, so are we—gloriously created to run the race and—our Master sacrificed more than we can imagine so we can run magnificently!
God carefully and artfully made you. He thought so much of you, that He only made ONE of you. He made no spares to replace you with—so you are irreplaceable. He also made a unique and wonderful plan for you—live it to the fullest!
Noah is a prime example of how God did extraordinary things with an ordinary person. The story of Noah—the ark and salvation from the flood—is still being told thousands of years after his death. What did Noah spend most of his life doing to make this remarkable mark in history? Well, the first 500 years, while the world was becoming so evil that God said He was sorry He made it, Noah walked with God.
“Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord…Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:8-9)
He spent the next 100 years building an ark among people who had never seen rain, much less a flood. Keep in mind that these were not sweet and encouraging people who admired Noah’s creativity!
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth…it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6)
Because Noah walked with God, he wasn’t deterred by the hatred and criticism of every person he ran into at the local market!
I can’t imagine having to live and work in an environment where everyone hated and ridiculed me, but that’s what Noah did—for a hundred years! He obviously didn’t have a casual relationship with God. He “walked with God.” I walk in many places every day. Am I walking with God everywhere I go? Nope. I forget Him throughout my day, and do my own thing. I quickly forget God, especially when I’m concerned about the approval of other people.
Noah wasn’t a firehouse Christian—one who prayed only when the house was on fire! God was the light to his daily path. When we make God integral in every part of our life, we are empowered to GLORIOUSLY run the race of life.
