All Inنموونە

Going All In
Bella Herting

Although I am no athlete, I have always been amazed by athletes' dedication and discipline regardless of the sport. However, running has always caught my attention. Whether you’re a sprinter or distance runner, both require serious training. I recall one year, one of my friend’s parents was training for a marathon in New York.

No matter when I visited her, her parents were out running several miles a day, constantly training, eating, and resting. I would always think to myself, “When will the training stop? Is it this serious?” I thought I knew the amount of discipline and sheer will it took to prep for a marathon, but I had no idea about the months of training. This taught me that work must be put in to achieve something great. You can’t just show up one day at the Olympics expecting to win a gold medal without doing an ounce of work.

Sometimes, we can find ourselves in this situation with God. We tend to be hot or cold and inconsistent in our fellowship with Him. Some days, maybe following a Sunday service, youth group, or church camp, we are on fire for God. We are at an all-time high until Monday comes around, and suddenly, you revert to your old self, maintaining bad habits until you seek God again, promising to follow Him and stop your old ways.

Just like training for a marathon, you must be disciplined with your actions and intentions to succeed in the spiritual race. It’s the same for school; if you have a big test but do not study, merely hoping and praying that you’ll get an A+ is a lost cause since no prep was done. I can attest to that, learning that lesson painfully! Without constant dedication, there will be no worthy output.

We must remind ourselves that our walk with God is our own. We must daily decide to pick up our cross and follow Him. As it is said in Revelation 3:15, we cannot be lukewarm, keeping one foot in and out of our relationship with Him.

If others looked at your relationship with God, would they say you are “All In?” What areas are you holding back, remaining lukewarm?