It’s late in the day and I’m determined to get one more mile in before the sun goes down. My muscles are a bit weak from medicines I’ve been taking, particularly my hips are throbbing with pain. I’m pretty sure they hate me as I strive for 10,000 steps a day; that’s what I was told is the minimum we should reach daily to stay healthy. I sit behind a desk most of the day, so I have to be very diligent about reaching this.

As I step up to the treadmill, I enter in a 9:30 pace/mile and pant for the first half before my body finds comfort in it’s stride. I’m nearing a mile and I hear His voice, ‘you can do it Trisha. One more mile. Faster this time.’ I’m not denying that I could do a little more, so I settle on running another half, increasing my pace to 8:57/mile. But He pushes me past my own boundary and says, ‘8:30’. I’m a bit taken aback, ‘Woh! That’s a minute off my time!’ But my hand reaches out to bump up the speed, believing and reciting ‘as long as you strengthen me, I know we can do this.’

The first half flew by and a thought came to mind, His results through me exceed my expectations for me. I didn’t set out to surpass any goals today; I had already hit my 10,000 steps after that first mile. It is quite often God squeezes more from me than I set out to accomplish; He presses my heart to greater heights than I think I can go. And it all strengthens my faith and trust that through Him anything is possible… anything! This has made me think about the goals I have for my life. I’ve heard it said before that if our goals don’t require God to show up in order for them to come to fruition, then we’re thinking too small.

We serve a loving Father who longs to be a part of our lives, a part of our story. Really, He longs to be the story, in and through us. Our minds underestimate the power of an Almighty God, who’s living and breathing Spirit is what strengthens every fiber carefully crafted and sown within us to do the impossible. I should have started out with a stronger goal in mind when I got to the gym earlier tonight. I should have set out to hit 8:30 for that mile. But thank God for His still, small voice that never leaves, and nudges when we’ve set our own expectations too low. Thank God His Spirit is there encouraging us that we were made for more!

Oh, my Lord, you are so faithful to continue speaking these truths in my life, never letting me settle for less than your best. I hear you on the sidelines cheering me on, saying ‘you can do it! You can do it!’ And then you jump in that race with me, leading the way, giving me focus on the prize that will come in the end. My God, you are so real and so wonderful. Thank you for your grace to continue believing in me, even when I’m tempted to settle for less. To you be the glory for any good that comes from this mortal body you’re training up. In the ever present name of Jesus, Amen.