I grew up on one of the largest hills in a town called Brookline. From the top of the hill you could see an amazing view of other towns. From the bottom of the hill looking up to the top seemed cumbersome, a long way up. This is a hill that runners preparing for the Boston Marathon would practice on. Constantly we would see from my childhood home groups of runners who had risen early in the morning running up and down the hill. At the bottom of our hill lay a major road that is well traveled and also a segment of the race that is run once a year.
I myself am not a runner in the physical sense. I’ve tried to get out there and run and have wondered HOW runners do it? While I have been successful at running on a treadmill, running outside is a whole different activity. On a treadmill, you program the machine for how long you would like to run (or in my case jog), you program it for how fast (or slow) you would like it to go and the machine begins to move beneath your feet and you have no choice (other than pushing the stop button or falling) to move with the pace of the machine. The machine guides your steps, and you simply move your feet. When you choose to run outside, your brain has to tell your legs to run. You determine and set your pace, you push your own self forward. You set your goal. You are moving at your own momentum. You choose when you start and where you stop.
The Bible talks about in Hebrews 12:1 “…Running with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Spiritually we as Christians ARE running in this race called LIFE. It’s not a race that puts us in competition with other people, like physical races do. Our success is not determined upon “beating someone else” our success is in running the course that Holy Spirit has set out for us. The first part of the race is in finding out prayerfully what that course is. What calling has God put upon your life? He’s made you with a purpose in mind. He has given you skills and gifts to accomplish what you need to accomplish in this “race of life” He has even given you a map with directions on discovering what that course is, how to accomplish it and even what hinderances may try to get in your way of completing it. He has given us through His word examples of people who have run the race of life before us. How to succeed and how not to succeed. Everything right there in His map – the Word of God. Studying the “route” should help prepare us for running our own race. The better the map (the Word of God) is studied, the better prepared we are for what we may encounter upon the way.
Where do you start? The starting point begins when you realize that you have been in a race you didn’t know you needed to run ALL ALONG. Before Holy Spirit opened up your spiritual eyes to the fact that you were EVEN IN A RACE you were just meandering a long aimlessly. Basically just existing. But the day that you realized that you hungered for God and Holy Spirit opened up your spiritual awareness to the fact that you needed to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior and you did – you became cognitive to the fact that you were actually a participant in a race – and as you became aware of runners ALL around you, you began to lift up your own legs and run! The wind of Holy Spirit giving you the momentum you needed and the desire to know the MORE of this race.
After I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and began to ask Him what it was He wanted me to do with my life, as I began seeking Him on this, I realized that what I had thought He had wanted me to do with my life was NOT the actual plans that He had created me for! As I studied His Word and began to ask Him questions, He revealed to me that what He had created me to do with my life was actually something I had always done! Sometimes we make it so much harder than it is – the things you enjoy, things you have always done and are good at – is actually the beginning discovery of what it is God wants you to use and the direction He wants you to go. We only need to be aware of it! Then MOVE in it. For me, it was writing. I had always written journals, diaries, short stories. I had never thought much about it until God specifically said to me, “Kelly – it’s as plain as the nose on your face.” (His words verbatim). “I want you to write.” It was so obvious that it had not occurred to me and the race I had been running prior to coming to Christ, had been a detour to what it actually was the God had in mind for me to do. Holy Spirit enabled me to (as we say in Massachusetts) “Bang a U-ey” turn around and proceed my faith race in the direction I was meant to go.
Take a moment now and ask the Lord this – “Father, am I going in the right direction? When I asked You to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior I willfully chose to give my life to You. To my life is not my own it is Yours… Am I going in the direction you meant me to go in? If not, I come before You and I ask You – Lord, You created me for a reason. The steps of the righteous are ordained by YOU. According to Your Word, please direct my path and help me to know the way so that I can walk (or run) in it. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen.”
Look at you! You have just set in motion the momentum that will set you off in the right direction in the race God has called you to run! The beauty of it is that we are not looking to run on our own strength BUT IN HIS! We belong to Him and once we have given our lives to Him our lives turn for the better! We are OFF and running! As you are gaining momentum with your spiritual legs, don’t be disheartened by pace you go. Along the way are lessons that God will grow you. Make you stronger in Him. You will sometimes feel a “pebble in shoe” or may go at a slower pace than where you think you should be. But as you continue trusting in Him, you will realize that the strength to run the race is not your own. It is God’s grace and forgiveness and mercies along the way that teach you about yourself and help you to pick up speed. We are not in a race against other people, we are in a race against ourselves. Learning that we were created to be dependent upon our Creator. Learning that we cannot succeed on our own accord but must continue to look to Him for strength, for direction for guidance. In fact, we are to trust in Him to accomplish ALL we need to do. And in doing so – we tune in to the voice of our instructor, Holy Spirit who tells us:
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like wings on eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Notice – there are times in your race where He will have you walking. You just need to be aware of the pace that is being set for you and trust in Him who has called YOU by name.
Ready? Set? Go!!!!!! In Him!
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