The last part of the journey ordained by God for each one is the most difficult part of the journey, for what matters is not only how we run but also how we end our course; we should not grow weary but run the race to the end. Amen!
In 1 Cor. 10:1-13 we see that the children of Israel are a type of the church; their history and experience are a warning and an encouragement to us in our Christian life.
We need to be encouraged and warned by the type of the children of Israel, whose journey toward the good land typifies the Christian race toward our goal, the all-inclusive Christ.
This portion in 1 Cor. 10 is a continuation of chapter 9:24-25, where Paul says that he is running the race to gain not a corruptible crown but an incorruptible one.
Therefore, he was even buffeting his body to make it a slave less, having preached to others, that he may not be disapproved.
We need to buffet our body and make it our slave, subduing it, so that we may run the race with endurance and finish our course gloriously.
When someone runs a race, he needs to not pay attention to the things around him nor to the desires of his body but to the race and how to run faster.
He may want to eat something or he may want to sleep more, but he limits his sleep and his eating, for he’s a runner in the race.
The people in this world buffet their body and are strict with themselves to obtain a corruptible crown, but we are here to obtain an incorruptible crown.
The children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness, and that was their journey set by the Lord.
However, they did not live for the Lord, they did not follow the Lord absolutely, and they neglected God’s purpose, so they were disciplined by the Lord. Oh, Lord Jesus!
We believers in Christ have been redeemed through Christ, delivered out of Satan’s bondage, and brought into the revelation of God’s economy.
However, we may yet fail to reach the goal of God’s calling, that is, we may fail to enter into the possession of our good land, Christ, and enjoy His riches for the kingdom of God so that we may be His expression in this present age and participate in the fullest enjoyment of Christ in the kingdom age (Phil. 3:12-14; Matt. 25:21, 23). Oh, Lord!
God has a purpose and a goal; He wants to lead us into the full enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land.
So we need to pay attention to this goal in order to run the race.
We should not indulge in what we desire nor should we linger in past experiences and in positive matters; we should forget the things which are behind and stretch forward to what is before so that we may gain the Christ of God!
Pay the Price to Wholeheartedly Walk on the Journey Ordained by God for us to the End
In Mark 6:45-51 we see how the Lord compelled His disciples to step into the boat and go before on the other side, toward Bethsaida, while He sent the crowds away, and He remained back to pray.
As they were rowing on the sea, there was a storm, and the wind was contrary to them.
The Lord was alone on the land, while they were rowing on the sea.
Then, at the fourth watch of the night, the Lord Jesus came to them, and He intended to pass by them, but they saw Him and cried out to Him.
When He got into the boat with them, the wind ceased and they arrived on the other side.
When the Lord was not with them on the boat, there were the winds contrary to them, and they were close to the end of their journey but did not know that, until the Lord came.
The last part of the journey ordained by God for us is the most difficult part. Each one of us has a journey ordained by God.
The Lord even compels us to walk on the journey ordained by God, just as the Lord Jesus compelled His disciples to get into the boat and go on the other side.
We are constrained on every side to walk on the journey ordained by God, for the love of God constrains us (2 Cor. 5:14).
What is most important in our Christian life is to seek out the journey which the Lord has ordained for us and faithfully walk on it.
We may know what this journey is, but we may not walk on it; therefore, our living may be filled with much spiritual death, gloom, and restriction. Oh, Lord!
This is why many times there are arguments and conflicts in God’s work, because we don’t walk on the journey ordained by God for us.
We need to put ourselves into God’s hand in a quiet, patient, prayerful, consecrated, and obedient way and wholeheartedly seek after His leading.
We need to be willing to obey Him and act only in accordance with His will.
We should pray that the Lord would reveal to us what is the journey that He has designated for us; then, we should pay any price to wholeheartedly walk on it. Amen!
Today we are in the last part of the journey ordained by God for us; we are in the fourth watch of the night, just before the Lord’s coming.
The wind is contrary to us, the sea is turbulent, and it seems that there is storm after storm.
We should not be distressed or disappointed, for the Lord Jesus is praying for us and soon He will appear to us.
We should not stop rowing and let the boat just drift according to the wind and the waves, for this will lead us farther and farther away from God and His goal.
![But I consider my life of no account [as if] precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/But-I-consider-my-life-of-no-account-as-if-precious-to-myself-in-order-that-I-may-finish-my-course-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "But I consider my life of no account [as if] precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24")
The Lord will come to us in the darkest hour, in the last watch of the night, in the last part of the journey God has ordained for us.
Even though it is difficult, we need to pay the price to wholeheartedly walk on the way.
We need to be willing to walk on the journey He has designated for us until the end, consecrating ourselves to the Lord.
When the storm is hard and the sea is against us, we can look to the Lord and allow Him to come into our boat.
He is with us there, in the middle of the storm.
He is on the mountain, praying and interceding for us to successfully finish our course, and He is also with us, amidst the storms, waiting for us to invite Him into our boat.
Once the Lord comes into our boat in the midst of the storm, the storm is over and we arrive at our destination.
An important thing in the Christian life is to seek out the journey that the Lord has ordained and faithfully walk in it.
We need to find the way and faithfully walk in it, even wholeheartedly follow the Lord on this way.
May we come to the Lord again and again concerning this matter, opening to Him and enquiring of Him,
Lord Jesus, we want to seek out the journey God has ordained for us and faithfully walk on it. Unveil us, Lord, to see what is the journey You ordained for us. We put ourselves into God’s hands in a quiet, patient, prayerful, consecrated, and obedient way. We do not want to make our own way or do what we think we should do; we simply want to wholeheartedly seek Your leading and follow the way You ordained for us. Amen, Lord, reveal to us the journey You designated for us and strengthen us to pay any price to wholeheartedly walk on it! Praise the Lord, we have Christ in the heavens interceding for us, even when we’re in the storm! Thank You, Lord, You are interceding for us to finish our course and obtain the prize. We want to keep rowing through the storm, and we allow You to come into our boat. Come in, Lord, and be with us in the storm. Bring us all the way to the end. We want to finish our course and obtain the prize!
Not Growing Weary but Running the Race to the End to Obtain the Prize
It is the Lord’s mercy and grace that He has shown us what is the way God ordained for us to walk, the course He has designed for us to run.
We are delighted to be on the right course, but how we run at the end is still a question.
We should not presume that, if we are running today, we will also be running when the Lord comes back.
It is by His mercy and grace that we are running the race today, and we need to continue to humble ourselves before the Lord and seek out the journey God has ordained for us to wholeheartedly walk on it.
In the case of the disciples in Mark 6, it seems that the Lord intended to pass by them (v. 48), and they asked Him to come into their boat.
It seems as if the Lord had no intention to go to the disciples.
He commanded them to go to the other side to Bethsaida, and He was about to meet them there.
If they did not follow the journey ordained by God, they would not have met Him.
If they took a wrong turn and went on the wrong course, the Lord would not have met them when He came.
This is very sobering. If the Lord calls us to do something and we choose to do something else, the Lord may not meet us again before the time of rapture; He may not make a detour just to meet us on the wrong journey that we choose to take.
The rapture takes place along the pathway that the Lord has ordained. If we are not there, will miss the rapture.
Each one of us has to bear the responsibility as to which way we should go.
As we run the race, we need to not grow weary, fainting in our soul for any reason (Heb. 12:3); rather, we should be those who run the race to the end.
It is easy to grow weary, for the wind is contrary to us, we’re in the middle of the storm, and it is the last watch of the night; it is dark, perilous, and stormy.
To be weary is to be without strength in the soul; everything seems to be in vain. Some brothers and sisters ran for five or ten years, and then they felt they could not continue.
It seems that everything was in vain, for they see their former college classmates becoming prosperous in the world, seeming to enjoy their life, while they pursue the Lord in the church life.
We may have gone to the training, and then we look at our former mates and see how they seem to enjoy life in the world while we are like a poor preacher; at one point, we may become weary, and we may have no strength, even thinking that it is all in vain.
In such situations we need to read and pray Micah 7:8, Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy; / When I fall, I will rise up; / When I sit in the darkness, / Jehovah will be a light to me.”
Amen, though we may fall – and we do fall, we will rise up, and though we may be in darkness – and we do find ourselves in darkness, God is a light to us.
We need to have such a spirit. We need to look away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, and we need to walk on the journey ordained by God for us.
Even as we are on the last part of the journey ordained by God for each one of us, as we reach the most difficult part of the journey, we need to run the race with endurance to the end.
We all need the Lord’s mercy in this matter, and we need to encourage one another to run the race.
On the one hand, we gather together with the saints and encourage one another.
On the other hand, each one of us need to seek the journey that the Lord has ordained and faithfully walk on it.
And we should not grow weary, fainting in our souls; rather, we should be those who run the race to the end.
We should not give up or become weary.
We should not faint into our soul but look away unto Jesus and run the race set before us so that we may finish the course and receive the prize!
Lord Jesus, we want to run the race with endurance by looking away unto Jesus. We seek You, dear Lord, and we seek to know the journey that God has ordained for us so that we may faithfully walk in it. Amen, Lord, we are so happy to be here on this journey toward the prize, running the race with endurance. We give ourselves to You. Save us from growing weary as we run the race. Save us from fainting in our soul for any reason. May we be those who run the race to the end! Oh Lord, keep us looking away unto Jesus even as we are in the last part of the journey. Amen, Lord, even as the age grows darker and the storm is stronger, we want to look away unto Jesus and run the race set before us! We trust in You, Lord, and we look away unto You. Infuse us with Yourself as our faith. Go on in us and take us on with You! Amen, Lord, even when we fail, we want to rise up and keep running the race! Even when we are in darkness, we come to You to have You as our light and continue running the race faithfully to the end! Yes, Lord, take us all the way to the end in the race so that we may declare like Paul, I have finished my course!
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References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 10, pp. 423-433, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith, and Loving the Lord’s Appearing in Order to Receive the Reward of Christ as the Crown of Righteousness (2024 ICSC), week 2, Finishing the Course.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– Jesus Sympathizes with Us in All Things, via, Bibles for America blog.
– Is Your Spiritual Eating Advancing? More via, Holding to Truth in Love.
– The key to overcoming – the law of the Spirit of life, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
– Seeking Out the Lord-ordained Journey and Walking on It Faithfully, via, Having this Ministry.
– Psalm 68: Travels with the Triune God, via, Living to Him.
– Living in resurrection to bring forth a new revival, a revival as the means for the Lord to close this age, a portion from, A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
– The Two Ends of Our Christian Life, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– Read portions from brother Nee’s ministry on this topic via, Ministry Samples. - Hymns on this topic:
– Run the straight race through God’s good grace, / Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face; / Life with its way before us lies, / Christ is the path, and Christ the prize. / Cast care aside, lean on thy Guide; / His boundless mercy will provide; / Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove / Christ is its life, and Christ its love. (Hymns #872 stanzas 2-3)
– Look away from all the past—Hallelujah, / Look away from both the good and sin; / To the living One hold fast—Hallelujah, / Look away from everything to Him. / Look away into His face—Hallelujah, / He who’ll finish what He did begin. / O what grace to run the race—Hallelujah— / We obtain by looking off to Him! (Hymns #1206 stanzas 4-5)
– When I’ve run the race before me / And have fought to victory, / I’ll be raptured to the glory of the Lord; / When I’ve kept the faith at any cost, / The Holy City then / I’ll receive as my reward. / I’ll be raptured into glory, / In the Holy City dwell— / New Jerusalem, New Jerusalem; / With the overcomers shouting, / How our praises then will swell, / In the New Jerusalem. (Song on, When I’ve run the race before me, stanza 1 and chorus)
About aGodMan
Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 10, pp. 424-425, 429-430
Dear brother, we need to put ourselves into God’s hands and simply seek His leading to walk on the journey He has set for us and finish our course.
May we be willing to obey Him and pay the price to run the rece, even in the last part of the journey.
Amen!!
Dear brother, we just need to remain in the boat until we reach the other side where the Lord is waiting.
We need to remain on our course running the race, taking nothing but Christ as our way, our path, our race, our goal, and our prize!
Amen! Lord Jesus! Take us with You all the way to the end!
Amen, Lord grant us the grace to walk on the journey with you.
Will we finish our race or will we be disqualified?
It all depends on how we run and end, and each one of us has to bear his own responsibility as to which way he should go.
Whether our history is one of faithfulness or failure depends entirely on our willingness to cooperate with the Lord-Spirit.
May we guard our hearts lest a cause of stumbling or unbelief should take root in us.
Amen brother. Now is the day of our salvation.
We run the race each day and we entrust the completion of the race to the Author & Finisher.
Aaaaameeen! All the way to the end!!!! Aaaaameeen!!
The most important thing in the Christian life is to seek out the journey which the Lord has ordained and faithfully walk on it…
Some, even though they have found it, do not walk on it.
As we consider the Lord Himself who endured such contradiction of sinners, we should not grow weary in our souls on our Christian journey.
The Lord has compelled us to get into our boat, and we must seek the journey He has ordained for us and faithfully walk in it.
Whatever our journey, wherever our boat is it must also be where the Lord intends to be.
Yes amen!
Putting ourselves into God’s hands is the most important task for us, to seek out our ordained path by the Lord and follow it so we don’t miss the rapture.
Continue to guide us down our path
Praise the Lord! 😃🙌🙋🏼
06/29/24 Finishing the Course (Week 2, Day 6)
Hebrews 12:3 says, “For compare Him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary, fainting in your souls.” This short word refers us to the four Gospels, where we see how Christ endured such contradiction from sinners. At that time, the sinners were all the religionists, Judaizers, priests, scribes, and elders of the people.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He confronted all these opposers who were doing their best to frustrate or stop Him from the way of God’s new covenant. But He was not frustrated; rather, He cut the way, slaying it by suffering the death of the cross.
We should not only look away unto Jesus but also compare Him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against Himself so that we may not grow weary, fainting in our souls. This indicates that the Christian walk is a way full of suffering, shame, and contradiction.
To believe in Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16) is a marvelous blessing, but this brings us to a way not only of peace and grace but also of suffering, shame, and contradiction. This is the way that Jesus took when He lived on the earth. In His human living, He suffered and was put to shame and contradicted by sinners, but all the while He looked away to the throne in the heavens.
We must learn of the Lord Jesus as our pattern. As we take the Christian way, which is full of suffering, shame, and contradiction, we should look away unto Jesus. When we look away unto Him, He is perfecting, finishing, the faith within us, infusing Himself into us as the believing element and ability. By looking away unto Jesus, we shall not grow weary and faint, but shall run with endurance until we arrive at the finish line of our racecourse.
In our human life, we cannot avoid encountering many problems. Yet we should not look at these problems, for they are not worth looking at. Rather, we need to look away from all our problems unto Jesus and compare Him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against Himself. When we look away unto Him, we will receive the infusion of the believing element and ability. In this way, we will be happy and be rescued inwardly from all our problems and contradictions.
Mark 6:45-46 say, “And immediately He compelled His disciples to step into the boat and go before to the other side, toward Bethsaida, while He sent the crowd away. And after He said farewell to them, He went away to the mountain to pray.” This verses show us the picture of the Lord compelling (constraining) us to take our Christian journey, which He ordained for us.
As portrayed in these verses, His charging His disciple to go to the other side indicates His desire for us to reach our ordained destination. His bidding farewell to His disciples as He went to the mountain to pray to the Father indicates leaving us on the earth by His ascension to the heavens to be with the Father on the throne in the third heaven, where He is administering His heavenly ministry to carry out His divine economy through us, His believers.
Since the Lord has compelled us to reach our ordained destination, we must faithfully run with endurance our racecourse by overcoming all obstacles that block our way. By ourselves, we cannot make it. But by looking away unto Jesus continually, Who is the Author (Initiator) and Perfecter (Finisher) of our faith, we eventually would reach our destination.
Heb. 12:3
For compare Him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary, fainting in your souls.
—
HWMRW2D6
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦
𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙮, 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 (𝙃𝙚𝙗. 12:3); 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙:
1. To be weary is to be without strength in the soul; everything seems to be in vain.
2. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧: “Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy; / When I fall, I will rise up; / When I sit in the darkness, / Jehovah will be a light to me”—Micah 7:8.
3. We should not give up, become weary, or faint in our soul but 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙨—Heb. 12:2a.
[Excerpt, Outline of HWMR-Week 2 Day 6]
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I am not so sure that “running the race and finishing the course” is actually running a race and finishing a course,
Though there are places to go on the Lord’s behalf, tasks to fulfill for the church, are we sure that this is what these verses are referring to? I am not convinced.
It is difficult for me to accept that should I make a mistake and find myself in Poughkeepsie instead of New Haven, that the Lord would not meet me there. I think instead, our outward journey, our course if you will, facilitates our inward journey, which is in fact, that which remains. The Lord is in the business of transforming souls, finishing them, perfecting them. There is church work to be done surely, but it is ultimately the transformation that matters. We finish the course when we are, inwardly, what the Lord desires. This is the journey.
Having said that, the Lord knows the way and takes us on the path to the perfection He desires. We should not overthink this. Simply follow your Joy and your Peace. Amen saints. Be blessed in Him.