One of the mysteries in life for me is the balance between my choices and efforts in living life and God’s sovereignty and part in my life. I need to choose, to obey, to strive, to seek, to read, and to be faithful. It is also clear that apart from God I can do nothing. If I seek the Lord diligently and obey Him completely, will I live forever? No, that is obvious. Well, if I pray without ceasing with great faith, will I be free of all sickness? I would probably significantly reduce my sick days, but life is still life, and sickness, heart attacks, and cancer seem to be part of it by God’s design. I am 77 years old, and my physical conditioning and energy levels are significantly lower than they once were. If I ask God for His strength every day, and exercise, work out, ride my bike, lift weights, eat right, and take the right supplements, can I have the strength and energy of a 20-year-old? I did a devotional for the Santiam Christian High School football team yesterday. Before I spoke, I watched them practice for 30 minutes. The athleticism, strength, speed, and energy of those young men were impressive. I was very envious. No matter how much faith I have and what I do, those days are long gone for me. That too is part of God’s plan. But I want to do as much as I can with the life I have left. I don’t know how many days or how much energy I have left, but I will choose to push right up to the edge. I am not going to be naïve and think that I can do everything and anything. Still, I am going to be diligent to run the race with endurance, be very faithful in exercise, eating right, stewarding my physical body, and then I am going to get as close to Jesus as I can, walk in the Spirit, pray for strength constantly, and look for open doors He is giving me to step through. I don’t think it is a lack of faith for me to admit that what I can do for the Lord is getting less every day, but I won’t let that admission give me freedom to do nothing.