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Rob Patz asks, “How do we know when we get THERE?”

Running to the finish line: Rob Patz asks, “How do we know when we get THERE?”

SGNScoops Magazine’s Publisher’s Point for July 2018 by Rob Patz

Last month, we talked about “You can’t get there from here,” and if you missed it, go back and read last month’s Publisher’s Point. This month, we’re going to talk about: “How do we know when we get there?”

So many people in life are striving for something. They want to be the best. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should do our best and give our best to God, but that doesn’t mean you are always going to be successful, that you’re always going to be first. Sometimes, we have to come to the conclusion that we’re here, but this is the point that God wants us. That for this moment in time, this is the exact place that God wants us to be.

I know for people like me, it’s never easy to stop and settle down for a minute. We’re always doing something.  

I had a friend of mine call me on a Saturday and he asked me what I was doing and I said I was working. He said, “It’s Saturday.” I said, “Well, it still has to get done.” So, I understand how hard it is sometimes to accept this place.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we can’t strive to the next location, or to the next promotion, but I think God – now, more than ever – expects us to be content in this current place. I’ve been dealing with that a lot lately.

The apostle Paul talks about running the race. My guess is that when he was describing this race in the timeframe of his reference, it was probably a marathon. If you’ve ever watched a marathon on TV, you know it’s not a short process. It’s over two hours, even if you’re an excellent runner, so you have to set your pace. It’s a decision you have to make, that even though it doesn’t seem like you’re going to finish right away, you are still going to finish.

Rob Patz running the race

A lot of people get discouraged around the mid part of the marathon, that’s why a lot of them drop out. But as Christians, we need to continue to strive, continue to press on toward the mark that God has set.

I was thinking of this today, that when I use the analogy about a marathon, even though I’ve never been a marathon runner, I can see myself in that last 200 yards, because that’s probably about as far as I could run without passing out. I could put myself in that 200 yards, where you see your family, you see the crowd around you, you hear them cheering for you and you know all the work that you’ve put in to the other 25-plus miles is now paying off.

You are just about where you need to be, just about home, but in that last 200 yards, rushing through your mind is everything that you worked on; all the training that has come to that point, all of the heartache, all of the sweat, all of the hard work, all of the discipline, to get you to that point. That’s what’s going through your head.

Now you see the finish line and you know that you have run as hard as you could, given it everything you have. I’d love in our scenario for you to be number one, but the reality is, there is not always that finish. Sometimes you’ll be 56th, but you still accomplish something great. You have stuck it through to the end.

Whether you’re a Christian or a Christian working in ministry, let me encourage you today. Continue on the race. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Believe that what God says is going to come true in your life, no matter if it’s this minute, or at the 13-mile mark, or the 25-mile mark.

July 2018 SGNScoops Magazine

God is with you. He is going to take care of you today and undergird you with his strength.

Until next month, this is the Publisher’s Point.

By Rob Patz. First published in SGNScoops Magazine in July 2018.

Read the full SGNScoops Magazine July 2018 HERE