Reimagining Pro-Life: 30 Days With Save the StorksVoorbeeld

HEART //

The author of Hebrews counsels us that the race we run is no straight line. Sin reaches out, trying to hinder and entangle us in order to keep us from Christ. As we’ve been experiencing this week, letting go can be tricky! Running “with perseverance” in the Christian life requires the kind of community support we explored in Day 7, and it requires intentional focus.

As we focus on “the race marked out for us” — thanks be to God that we are not forging our own way! Christ has already paved the path to the Kingdom for us, through His death and resurrection. To run the race well, we must focus on Christ. And focusing on Christ requires throwing off anything that is unnecessary for our race. In other words, the Christian life requires not only perseverance and community, but also strategy.

Imagine that you are at a track meet, getting ready to race. A teammate comes up to give you final words of encouragement. He tells you to take off your running shoes, and he gives you a brand new pair of snow boots to put on. He places a high-quality coat on your back, and he sets designer jeans on the bench beside you. Everything that he gives you may be desirable in the eyes of our image-oriented culture, but it is all completely unnecessary for the race that you are getting ready to run. In short, when we clothe ourselves in nonessentials, we slow down our pace in God’s race.   

Strategy in our Christian journey means listening to the Coach who knows our weaknesses and what will be best for our training. This Coach can and does strengthen us. Learning to recognize the voice of God in your life; surrounding yourself with a good team; praying and fasting; surrendering to Christ on a daily basis; and following in His footsteps by loving others are all ways to train well. God has specific methods and paths that match His plans for you, so pay attention to the details of your suffering, your past failures, your passions and your strengths — because He wants to redeem them all in a way that is unique to your story!

If you’ve made it to Day 8 of this devotional (and the last day of the Letting Go water fast), you are doing an amazing job of training well, and you’re probably gearing up to reimagine the pro-life movement in our world in powerful ways. It is a race that will require perseverance because it’s an uphill journey in many ways, but remember to keep training hard and staying strong. There is present and everlasting joy for the runner who glorifies God in the flurry of worldly distractions. One day, when we see Christ face to face, we will know that it was all worth it. 

// WORK

This week, through our daily fasting, reflections, and challenges, we’ve seen that letting go requires a great deal of determination and planning. The reimagined pro-life movement requires the same traits: perseverance, community building, focus, strategy. Even though the fight for life is a fierce battle, what is amazing is that we may run with a winning mentality. Jesus has already won the race! 

We can have confidence in the face of setbacks because Christ assures us that all will be made right in the end. Fear and despair cannot hold us down because all will be redeemed! We can already see glimpses of His victory. Four out of five women who board a Stork Bus choose life. 

We, too, should work toward establishing Christ’s everlasting Kingdom. Right now. Right in our own families and cities. Over the past week, we’ve talked about what life could look like if we made decisions fearlessly and selflessly. What remaining fear or sin “that so easily entangles” can you feel hindering your spiritual race? 

Spend a few minutes journaling about your own race in this life. Then, pray about (and then make some notes on) how your path can or may continue to connect with the reimagined pro-life movement. If you’ve never interacted much with the pro-life movement, here are some ideas to get you started. . .

• Are you a prayer warrior? You could join a group like 40 Days for Life to pray for women entering abortion clinics and that God would change their minds.
• Do you have a knack for organization? In the future, you could volunteer at a local pregnancy resource center or at other pro-life events in your area.
• Have you ever donated items for a food, clothing or toy drive? Many pregnancy resource centers collect and distribute items that expectant mothers are in desperate need of, and some even have their own thrift store and need volunteers!

Tomorrow, as we move into a new week with the theme of Identity, we pray that you may filled with newfound strength and freedom in God, even if it means letting go of some ‘normal’ things that aren’t serving you well on your race. God is good!