Run Your Race

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT): “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

I jogged through my neighborhood at 5 a.m. this morning with my lovely neighbor and friend, Amy.  It was a pain to get up that early.  It was very cold, as it was 35 degrees.  I also went to bed too late last night, so I did not get a full night of rest. I had every reason to decide not to go but I made myself do it because I knew she was counting on me, and I knew I needed it.  I have been working at getting back into running regularly, so when she invited me to run with her a few mornings a week, I was excited to accept the offer.  The holidays and the weather have resulted in some breaks for us, but, overall, we have been getting after it and it has felt really good. This morning, I am feeling so energized! I need to remember this feeling the next time I feel unmotivated to run.

But, I digress.  The point of this post is not to guilt-shame you for not working out. Lord knows I have my many moments of not wanting to exercise and have kept my butt right on the couch or in bed. Running is such a metaphor for life. I have mentioned this before on my blog and I continue to feel this way.  Each of us is on our own path.  We are the main actors in our own production and everyone else is the supporting actors.  We each have our own race that God has set before us, as the verse mentions.  We live in a time where we are so overly focused on others’ lives by way of watching their stories on various social media platforms that we often forget to live out our own lives.  For instance, there have been many times when I planned to workout, write, or read a book that I’ve been meaning to read, only to start scrolling on my phone.  I become so enveloped in what is happening in my friends’ lives that I forget that I wanted to enrich my own life and I miss out on that.  I’m not running my race because I’m too busy watching everyone else’s.

Of course, we want to support and encourage others and we should not be selfish.  We should always have a mindset of ministry and of being a servant.  That is our primary race and it requires great endurance.  It is difficult to be a servant and to constantly work on being unselfish.  How can we serve others if we are always distracted?  I am certainly guilty, as I’ve mentioned several times on my blog, so I am lovingly sharing my thoughts on this for both of our benefits.  I encourage you today to run your race.  What does your specific, individual race look like?  What were you placed on this earth to do?  It’s time to pray and ask God to show you what that is – and listen to what he says.  If you are not in his word, and not praying and sitting in his presence often, you will have a hard time hearing his answer, by the way.  

When I run full marathons (that is 26.2 miles for those that don’t know and think any race is called a marathon- it’s not!), I stop and take photos, I meet new friends, and it’s a whole experience for me.  That’s the race I choose to run.  When we are running our “race” of life, we similarly need to take the time to enjoy it in such a way.  Take the time to capture the special moments and invest in others.  Take the time to hear God’s voice and enjoy his friendship.  Don’t run so hard and stay so focused that you miss out on the little things that make life so precious.   We can run with endurance and enjoy the race at the same time, so we need to remember that.  As the verse mentions, staying away from sin is going to help us run the race that God meant for us.  It will also help us enjoy it.  I could write a whole book on this, but I’ll keep it brief for those of you that are like me and have a short attention span.  God didn’t give us rules to follow in order to make our lives boring. It is the opposite, actually. If we stay away from sin (we can never be perfect, of course!), we can live the fullest lives possible and enjoy all that he intended for us to enjoy.  It’s really that simple. 

Let’s run our own races, friends, and be the best we can be – for ourselves and others.  Don’t let life pass by and miss out on all that God intended for you.  The path for your race is open and ready for you to get on it.  What are you waiting for?

With all my love,

Lyrica