Running This Race

I've had no absence of thoughts lately about the life I'm living, and the race I'm running. I guess these are just some of my thoughts on my life verse: Hebrews 12:1-3.


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...."

We have fellow Christians at every side, those who have already run the race, and those who are running with us. Those who have seen Christ work, and have seen lives changed, and those whose eyes are just being opened to his works and his people in need. We are surrounded by Christians who struggle in the same ways we do, with doubt, with fear, with pain. Who often think about the same things we do, our future, the people around us, what to believe. People who are there, just like us, to talk to, to be talked to, to listen, and to listen to. If we don't realize that we're running the race TOGETHER, we will fall down. We will be overcome with the ache of isolation and will only realize that we are running in place. We will not get anywhere. We will not reach anyone. So, we cannot run alone.

"....let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles..."

Instead of looking back at the ugly things we've done. Instead of remembering the dirt that's been dealt to us, let us THROW it OFF. Let us erase it! Our slates have already been wiped clean, we are constantly given a second chance. A third chance. Even an eight-hundred thousand, three-hundred and ninety-second chance. God forgives. If we don't forgive ourselves, if we don't forgive OTHERS, if we don't move on and focus on the task we have, we will trip and fall in our tracks. GOD FORGIVES. We all fall short, we ALL mess up, but we are all given the chance to CHANGE that, to get up, and try again. If we get up with the same attitude, we get tangled right back up in what got us down in the first place. And we can't keep beating our heads against the wall! We MUST throw off everything that hinders. There is absolutely NO way we can run a race, if we carry a load larger than life. Give it up. Let it go. Leave it at God's feet. Completely.

You will run with more freedom and strength than you have ever run before.
"....and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..."
Perseverance. We must be steadfast on this race! To quote the dictionary: we must be "resolute and unyielding holding on in following a course of action." We cannot run this race half-heartedly. We must be wholehearted!! We must have endurance and never give up. This is our life we are talking about. This is our purpose! We must run this race, for Jesus Christ, to shine as a light of who He is and what he has done, to further his kingdom and make him known among ALL nations, and to set an example to others of how we should be living, as imitators of Him alone!

So, perseverance is ESSENTIAL! If we fail to endure, if we decide to stop running, it means we are losing sight of our goal. We are forgetting why we are running. Maybe we need to stop for a drink, and catch our breath, but we cannot stop running for good. God will fill us

Persevere. Don't just walk. RUN THAT RACE. Be committed. Be dedicated. BE DEVOTED! For heavens sake, be enthusiastic and passionate! This is a race you are running to share eternity with Christ! So be steadfast and unwaivering. You have the strength, you have the arms to catch you if you trip and fall, what do you have to lose? Don't hesitate! Start running!


"....Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God..."

Why are we running?
We are free! We have been set free by the of Jesus, so we have everything to run for! We are running to be with him! We are running to find those who need him, and to find those who have not heard of his greatness! So that we can all run together... We are running because we are CALLED to run. We were made to run.
But, we are only able to run because Jesus has already run before us, and he has already prepared the way. We are free runners! Let's go!
"...Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

If we don't pace ourselves, our running will wear us out quickly. We will lose heart and fall.
God gives us the strength to run, and shows us the road to follow, even if that means going through valleys. If we follow Christ's example, if we live the way he calls us, he will set our feet on fire. If we trust him, if we give our lives to him, he will show us where to go.
But this means we must give him our WHOLE life. As Romans says, "Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Don't burn out! Keep yourselves fueled and on fire!

Prepare your heart. This race will be a hard one. It will be full of trials, but also full of unspeakable joy. Remember, this is your life, this is your purpose. Be alive!

Let's run this race!