Battle Cry

Seems intense doesn't it, the strong desire that is placed on us to excel. To be the winner. To perform good enough to be the best. To compete daily. To fight for a position or rank in the eyes of those around us. To try and run faster and work harder. To accomplish accomplish accomplish....

Only at the end of the race we feel empty. Full of nothing, but a paper full of our accolades. Our hearts feel dry in the midst of the accomplishments. Our striving seems to fall on deaf ears, because we are fighting for an image of success. We are battling for a life that looks good to others. Our view of ourselves is shaped around what we should become, who we should be in the world, and yet, when we stop we feel dry and barren. The fruit we bore was a harvest of lack.

When we strive in and of ourselves relentlessly seeking our own merit we only produce lack. Winning the race never satisfies, but what happens when we run a race that has already been won for us? When in our striving we lean into the One who fulfills us? What if our accolades in Christ become more important than the accolades of this world? What of His gracious view of us becomes our view of ourselves? What if our definition is His: forever merciful, forever gracious, forever loving definition. How much more success on this Earth will we feel if we are operating in a God success. What if our battle cry comes from us glorifying the One who came for our righteousness?

Allow your works to become the best to cease. Seek to fill your vessel from the only One who quenches your thirst. There is no sense in running a race to fill a cup that is bottomless. Allow yourself to become complete in Christ. He is for you.