Punching The Air

This got me pondering...

"Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
I do not fight like a man beating the air."
~1 Cor 9:26

Imagine you were a boxer, a heavyweight one. Your body bulges with un-ignorable visible evidence of disciplined training and hardwork, weighs like a piece of heavy-duty goods to be freighted. Each punch you throw is powerful and even deadly, but costs you significant energy to flex those bulges and release each blow to your target, be it your opponent or the sand-bag.

How discouraging would it be to see those punches that are thrown miss the target. I have watched some boxing matches before where there are blows that are missed and the air was punched as if they are not innocent. With all the perspiration and effort spent! That must have cost a lot; each of them. Blow after blow. Eventually you would get tired of it and would likely give up as a result.

What's this got to do with me, I pondered? I sensed the question.

Am I throwing punches that miss the target?...

In other words, am I surrendering all the resources (time, money, possessions, energy, skills, talents, gifts, etc) that God has entrusted to me for His purposes according to His very own design that He intended?

The following re-phrase compelled me even more.

"I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.
I am not like a boxer who misses his punches."
~1 Cor 9:26

I am convinced and I trust that the Master certainly is intending something far greater, the Best, for each of which He has bestowed you and me with. Bring them to Him, let Him use them through us...