Run Your Race: Pt 3 - Your Particular Course

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”             (Hebrews 12:1-2). 

Do you have favorite races or courses to run?

I do. I always like the “Statham Sunflower Festival 5K” because it was pretty flat. “The Mill Race at Hurricane Shoals” has always been fun, running through the covered bridge (original built circa 1869) and then along the North Oconee River to the finish. “Burning Up the Blacktop” was surely one of the hottest, most humid races I’ve ever run. And I always enjoyed running New Year’s Eve in Lawrenceville at the “Flashlight 5K.”

Each course is unique, featuring its own particular challenges and satisfactions. For that reason, when running a new course, I try to arrive at the venue early to register, and then go DRIVE the course to see what I’m up against.  Knowing where the turns are, where the hills are, where the halfway point is, and such helps me mentally prepare and organize my race.

The Bible describes the unfolding of our lives as a course. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to “run with endurance the race set before us…” The course you run in life is unique, and shaped by your upbringing, your education, your DNA, and community you were raised in. The joys and heartaches that come our way are unique – marriage, divorce, premature deaths, health challenges – these are all factors particular to you. Perhaps you grew up with a painful childhood, others “with a silver spoon in your mouth.” Your race is not my race, and vice versa.

What we DO have in common is we’re ALL called to run our race with endurance. The inference is, no matter what course YOU run, it will be taxing and challenging to the soul. We all have victories to celebrate; we all likely have crushing moments which, like a sprint to the finish, take our breath away.

If you’re on social media, you’ve likely seen the meme that says, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”  Yeah. That resonates.

Given the abrasive, taxing nature of life, we have the opportunity to bless and encourage one another along our journeys. Sometimes our lives take a “blind turn.” We haven’t been this way before, like dealing with COVID-19. It’s new and uncharted territory. And a “new route” means we have to refigure what hope looks like.

So matter the course you’re on today, God gives you the capacity to make a difference. And yes, even today, someone in your world can draw from your strength. Determine to help others finish their course.

You CAN do it. Will you?