Good News – Part 2
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of October 24, 2021
When I was in middle school I ran track. Thankfully, I had an amazing coach, who taught me proper techniques for running races. Although I wasn’t the fastest girl on the team, those were invaluable lessons I carried into adulthood and apply even now to life in general.
A few of my favorites are:
- Don’t be distracted by opponents.
- Stay in your lane.
- Keep your head and eyes straightforward.
- Beat your own best time.
As I mentioned, I wasn’t the fastest girl. But I figured out, early on, there was a race I could be a part of winning. It was my favorite then and still is today: the relay.
Out on the track, there was nothing more exhilarating to me than the anticipation of seeing the runner behind me approach. I could feel my heart race even before my feet. As she got closer, I would sync in step with her, reach for the baton, grab it and take off as if running for my life.
I gave it my all, but it was never enough; because no one can win a relay by themselves. Winning this race requires a team effort.
This principle links back to Part 1 of this series, where God asks Moses, “What is that in your hand” (Ex 4:2 NIV)?
“A staff,” Moses replied.
Moses couldn’t part the Red Sea alone. He knew he couldn’t gain victory for himself or others by himself. But with God’s grace-power and authority operating through Moses and his staff, he could do the impossible (Ex 15:6 NIV).
1 Chronicles 29:12 NIV tells us that God is "the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all."
So, when we receive God’s hand to do what we cannot do alone, He releases His power and authority through us to accomplish His will. We become His hands and feet on earth. We don’t have to fear when we know we are in the palm of His hand.
All through scripture, we find that God establishes His will through our hands and that our lives and times are in God’s hand (1 Sam 24:20, Ps 31:15, Jer 26:14).
God is the lifter of our hands, the One who offers us victory over opposition (Mic 5:9, John 8:18). He even calls us His “wreath of victory” in Philippians 4:1 AMP. With God, we can move faster than we think and affect many lives.
In early October, our Lord revealed to me that there are those, like Moses, who have not given up but have persisted in “impossible” assignments (races). These persistent ones are about to finish their final segments in victory by God’s Spirit—by His power and authority.
These are people who have been matured over time. Ones who have been strengthened to run with God in abundance (Phil 4:13, Ps 67:6 AMP).
God is unveiling His beauty that He restored in them deeply. They are emerging fluidly into their time to beacon, as God showcases His glory through these deliverers (Acts 13:47).
When God highlights them, we will come to know them in a new way, on a new level, and in new areas. Many of them are close to us—those we think we have known for a long time but actually only knew on the surface.
Are you one of these deliverers? What has God empowered you to do?
Philippians 1:6 ESV says, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
God is able and He has made you able, because you have synced with Him in the race. He is behind you, in front of you, and alongside you cheering you on.
God has placed His baton of victory in your hand to finish a final segment of a race (assignment). Know that, when this race is over, there will be another one up ahead, just on the other side of a brief rest.
God offers us a strategy to run in peace and well-being in our daily race in Philippians 4 by reminding us who we are in Him and revealing His proper techniques for running races:
Verse 1 – He calls us His beloved and instructs us to “stand firm” in Him.
Verse 2 – He tells us "to work in harmony" with Him.
Verse 3 – He advises us to help others who work "in the [cause of the] gospel."
Verse 4 – He says to "Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]."
Verse 5 – He instructs us to let our "gentle spirit [your graciousness, unselfishness, mercy, tolerance, and patience] be known to all people."
Verse 6 – He invites us to not be anxious or worried and to bring our concerns to Him with thanksgiving.
Verse 7 – He assures us that He will guard our hearts and minds with His peace.
Verse 8 – He commands us to focus on His truth, honor, righteousness, purity, beauty, peace, goodness, excellence, and praiseworthiness.
On the second day of seeking God to write this devotion, I asked our Lord what else He desired to say. He brought to mind the old gospel pop song, Put Your Hand in the Hand, which I hadn’t heard in years.
As I searched it out, I realized this song was released the same year that I had begun running track in middle school.
Let’s remember these lyrics as we go forward:
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself
And you can look at others differently
Put your hand in the hand of the man
From Galilee.
The scripture reference Holy Spirit led me to was Isaiah 41:13 AMP, which says, "For I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord], Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'"
He also reminded me of 2 Timothy 4:7 TPT, which says, "I have fought an excellent fight. I have finished my full course with all my might and I’ve kept my heart full of faith."
So, friends, God’s good news is that He is about to show us greater victories than we’ve ever known as we decide to trust Him enough to run with our hand in His and finish our races (assignments) strong.
To Him be the glory.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
