What’s your starting line?
We each have a unique starting line in life. And, unlike our finish line, we have little or no control over it. We don’t choose where or when we are born, the family we are born into, the choices our parents or others make on our behalf, or the political, social and economic climate that exists.
So, if we can’t do anything about our starting line why bother talking about it? Because how we view our starting line can dictate how well we run and finish our race. If we view it as a launching pad, it can catapult us ahead. If we see it as a handicap, it can hold us back. And if we don’t see it as a beginning at all we can meander aimlessly through life without a sense of purpose or meaning.
“How we view our starting line can dictate how well we run and finish our race. If we view it as a launching pad, it can catapult us ahead. If we see it as a handicap, it can hold us back. ”
I truly believe that no-one is an accident. God has a destiny and purpose for every person. There isn’t a starting line that is a mistake, a story that God can’t use, or a life that doesn’t have eternal value.
Psalm 139:15-16 says “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
That doesn’t mean that we don’t have a say in the path we take. In addition to a divine destiny, God has given us free will. We can choose the path he has set before us or our own way. We can allow him to guide our footsteps or run ahead of him, or even away from him. I’ve done all of those things. But despite our own shortsighted folly, God remains loving, faithful and patient. He gives us one opportunity after another to get back on track and in sync with his good and perfect plan.
“He gives us one opportunity after another to get back on track and in sync with his good and perfect plan.”
The Apostle Paul often refers to the Christian walk as being a race (more akin to a marathon than a sprint). But I have found life is like a triathlon. We start off swimming then find ourselves on a bicycle before ending up with a nice long run. Just when we feel like we are getting somewhere, the race changes and we are at a brand-new starting line. I’ve never competed in a triathlon, but I do know that the course is set and clearly marked. Not so in life. Those transition points in the race look more like forks in the road without a signpost. And that’s when we begin to think God has forgotten or abandoned us. The hopes and dreams we were working towards now look like hopeless impossibilities. The twists and turns look like departures not detours. The finish line looks like a disappointment instead of a dream.
“What if we see those transitions as new starting lines?”
What if we see those transitions as new starting lines - a leg of not a different, but the same race? Instead of confusion or disillusionment, we can have fresh hope, renewed anticipation and a reinvigorated sense of purpose. Although our lane is not clearly marked, we have the promises of God, the wisdom of others and the Holy Spirit’s power and counsel to help us stay the course and finish strong.
So what’s your starting line? Did you start strong and stay on course? Have you meandered off the path a bit and feel a bit lost? Or perhaps you’re at one a junction point and it’s time to choose. My prayer for you today is that you choose well and finish strong.
