Pastor B.J. Knefley

The other morning, I got up to take the dog out. Quickly slipping on a pair of shorts, I managed to get her outside before she had an accident. While waiting for her to do her business, I suddenly realized my shorts were inside out. So much for getting dressed in the dark.

Life can be that way at times. We’re in a dark place, and we decide that we think it’s the right one, only to find out that we got it backwards. But it’s life, and life goes that way at times. There will always be bumps in the road. It’s not the bumps that cause the problems; it’s our reaction to them.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews likens life to running a race. In it, we’re to keep our eyes on the prize. Too often we don’t do that. Distracted by an event or obstacle that trips us up, we get sidetracked and sometimes become so discouraged that we want to give up. But it’s never about the thing that pulls us away from the race; it’s always about the race, the finish line. That is what we need to keep our eyes upon, even when we can’t see it. In our minds’ eye, we know it’s there.

Recently, I have started fishing with a different type of fly rod. You need to understand that I’m not good at fly fishing. I haven’t caught a thing over the past several years. But I keep going out, I keep trying. This past week, I’ve been using this new rod, and it’s an entirely different technique than what I’ve been used to. (For those that are wondering, I’m using a Tenkara system.) But I keep trying, and yesterday I caught my first fish; it was only five inches long. Not the record holder that I was hoping for, but it’s a start. My point is, I’m not giving up. I know that if I keep trying, running the race, I’ll get to the finish line. In other words, I’ll learn how to do this, and I’ll become more proficient in the journey. It’s the same with life; we keep moving forward, overcoming the obstacles. Keeping our eyes upon the goal, we cast our line again and again. The point is, we don’t give up. Think about it.