JenniferBittinger's Blog

You reach the last 100 yard stretch; the finish line seems miles away. Your heart is pounding, feet aching, thighs throbbing, and your lungs are on fire as you try to breathe. You get closer and closer, not realizing how strong you're breathing until you fly past that white line like a gazelle! You did it! You just did your first marathon! Walking with Jell-O legs, you bend over trying to catch your breath. Your body tells your mind, "You made it and we're still breathing!"



Life is a marathon. At the beginning you think that you'll never make it to the end because you fear what lies ahead. But, as you run over hills, through dark woods, and through mud you realize that something is keeping you going and not allowing you to pass out---oxygen. Why is breathing so important when exercising, in childbirth, or to prevent an anxiety attack? Oxygen is the lifeline to survival and breathing is the only way to get it.



Our personal relationship with God is like oxygen. We cannot run life without it. Yet, how can we breathe in more of God? Psalm 150:6 (NLT) says, "Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD!" The only way we can take in more of God and build our spiritual lungs to sustain us through life's race is through praise.



Life is full of victories and losses, mountain-top experiences and valleys. There are days when you will wake up to a glorious sunrise and dark, rainy nights when you can't understand why you lost a loved one, your child is rebellious, or you lost your job. Life is not always joyous and pain-free, but the greatest foundation that holds you through the storms is Jesus Christ. Whether there's sunshine or rain, He deserves all our praise. Through our unconditional praise, the Holy Spirit ministers to our souls in greater ways than we could imagine.



The Apostle Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." (2 Timothy 4:7 NLT) Regardless of how far you are in your race, keep breathing. You will never arrive at a point where you can stop breathing. Thus, you will never arrive in your relationship with God where you can stop praising Him. The only way to successfully make it past that white line is to keep praising God in all circumstances regardless of how you feel or what is around you. So, let me ask you, "Are you still breathing?"

Believe it or not, there is a deadly pestilence roaming the earth called âcomparing yourself to others.â Whether you want to admit it or not, this spirit invades each of us at one time or another. Itâs the pestilence that chews away your confidence and worth. Don't be timid about its affect â it can kill you. The good news is that it doesnât have to swallow the core of who you are. When the spirit lingers around you, you have a choice to receive it or reject it. I suggest you reject it.



How many times have you looked at someone â his or her brains, clothes, body shape, car, hair, or personality â and said, âIf only...." or âI could have that, too, if I do A, B and C...." or even âI could gain acceptance from him or her if I did A, B and C.â How often do you critique the personality of someone more âattainableâ than you only to end the day feeling discouraged and like you can never make it to the top? How often do you find yourself saying, âIâll never be able to....â or âWhy couldnât I have been like this....â



If youâve said or thought these things once, youâve said or thought them once too much. Because you are loved, uniquely accepted, chosen and approved by your Maker, you have no reason or right to compare yourself with others. Make the decision to stop allowing those thoughts to rule your mind. You have not been fashioned to fit in Sallyâs shoes, look like Lisa, or have Wallyâs personality. You havenât even been entrusted with Gracieâs gift of knowing how to solve every math problem on the face of the planet; so relax, allow yourself a chuckle for understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and choose to accept that you are delightfully different!



Certainly the first tool in waging war against comparison is to understand who and why your Creator is; when that revelation comes, you realize who and why you are. I highly suggest meditating on the Sword, especially during those vicious cycles of destructive thinking, to fully grasp the importance of who you are to Him and others. I also still believe one of the best things you can do to combat this locust of comparison is to strengthen your strengths. Sure youâll run into difficulties learning to master your craft, and you may even find yourself battling comparison in that area, but Iâm convinced that a choice to overcome is all it takes.



Understand your value. Understand your purpose in the world. Understand your absolute worth of being fearfully and wonderfully made. Donât allow a bubble of lies to infiltrate your mind; choose to do something about them! Stomp on them, scream at them, stare them in the face and reject them! Laziness is already too prevalent in this culture so do yourself a favor: get off your butt, learn your passions, find your gifts and develop them! Before you know it, youâll be soarinâ the skies of heaven in full assurance that you are worth more than you give yourself credit for, you are exquisitely valuable to your Creator and you will find yourself knowing confidence like youâve never known it before! Happy thoughts!

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in summer." (Proverbs 30:25)



The message of the ant is "prepare yourself!" He prepares for winter while he is still in summer. That's because: (1) His eyes are on the future. You can't undo the past, but if you let it, it can undo you. The summer of your opportunities is passing quickly. Winter will come whether you're ready or not. Remember Christ's parable about the five foolish virgins who had no oil in their lamps and were excluded from the wedding? If you're not ready when your time comes, you'll miss out.



(2) He has the ability to delay gratification. If you don't have the patience to wait, you'll miss, or mess up what God has in mind for you. The ant takes the resources he has in summer, and moves it towards his winter. Will somebody else show up and do this for him? No. Are there predators looking for a chance to steal what he's got? Yes. But he's so focused on where he's going, he doesn't have time to worry about where he is.



(3) He has a cause bigger than himself. Ever watch an ant work? He sinks his teeth into a piece of bread three times bigger than himself and drags it to where he's trying to go. Are you saying, "This is too big for me, I can't carry it by myself?" You don't have to. Read this: "Glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we could ever dare to ask or even dream of" (Eph. 3:20 TLB).

Walking by Faith

Hebrew 10:38 "The just shall live by faith."



Walking by faith is not easy. When you make up your mind to trust God the odds are usually stacked against you. Remember Noah? When he built the ark there had never been rain! And the outcome is not always what you expect. Walking by faith does not mean your problems suddenly evaporate. Sometimes faith does not change your circumstances, it changes you by giving you the tenacity to hang in there when the check does not come in the mail, the doctor says, Its malignant, your spouse asks for a divorce, the kids are running amok, or the place you have worked for 30 years closes its doors. Faith gives you the fortitude to endure these things, confident that God is working on your behalf. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for" (Heb 11:1-2 NIV). So walking by faith means: (1) trusting in the faithfulness of God; (2) following in the footsteps of ordinary people who did extraordinary things; (3) using your faith, because it is the currency of heaven. When the Bible says, "The just shall live by faith," it does not mean little sporadic bursts. No, it is talking about a lifestyle! Anybody can go the first few rounds in the ring; it is when you are knocked down in the ninth that you need the faith to get back up and keep fighting. When the plane you are flying encounters turbulence you do not throw away your ticket or bail out, you sit still and trust the pilot. So discount your circumstances, dethrone your doubts, and start walking by faith!



The WORD for You Today

By Bob G%%##@