RUNNING YOUR RACE

Author note: I am pleased to announce that I have been accepted as a teacher for an on-line presence called Women Living Well Ministries, which is based in North Carolina. WLWM seeks to empower women to be disciples of Jesus and to assist them in roles of leadership in the church. I have been invited to record 5-minute teaching videos and share through the written word on different topics. This reflection is based on the first video that I recorded. I am excited to see what God has in store for me with this new adventure that has presented itself.

 

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.  –Hebrews 12:1  (NLT)

Our lives are a beautiful gift from God. He created each of us unique and special, with no two of us exactly alike. On this earth, we are all running our own individual race, as the Lord leads us to the finish line. No two of our races are exactly alike, either. Being surrounded by a huge crowd of witnesses, we are encouraged to run the race God has given us with endurance.

WHAT RACE ARE WE IN?

We aren’t in a race to see how many tasks we can accomplish in a day, but rather we are running our race to live as faithful disciples, glorifying God with our lives, and sharing His great love with all.

This Scripture tells us that as we run our race, we are surrounded by a crowd of faithful people, other runners, whose example can help us run our race even better. Some of these people have already gone on to be with the Lord, so we remember their example and the ways their lives of faith have impacted and left a lasting impression upon us.

Others are the witnesses we walk with daily, seeing how others are actively living out their faith, maybe dealing with great physical challenges, or maybe helping to support us through the tougher times. These people can help give us advice or point out when we might be starting to drift into a life of increased sin.

We are encouraged to run this race of life that God has given us until He calls us home. We never know when that will be, so we need to continually be faithful in following God and running with endurance.

 

Photo courtesy of Baptist Union of Great Britain under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

WHEN DO WE GET TO THE FINISH LINE, AND WHAT IS THE FINAL PRIZE?

We each arrive at our finish line when the Lord calls us home. He was in control of when we were born and is also in control of when our lives end on this earth.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  –John 3:16  (NIV) 

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.  –Philippians 3:20-21  (NIV)

From these Scriptures, we learn that the final prize for each of us is to obtain eternal life in heaven, where we will spend eternity rejoicing in God and Jesus’ presence. There, we will also be reunited with our fellow runners who ran their races successfully.

 

Photo courtesy of Sharon Tate Soberon under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)

 

HOW CAN WE RUN OUR RACE MORE SUCCESSFULLY?

1-Living as God’s beloved and chosen ones.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  –Colossians 3:12  (ESV)

Have you taken it to heart that you, my friend, are God’s beloved child too? We are most privileged to be God’s children, His chosen and beloved ones, made in His image!

 

2-Using the unique toolbox of gifts God has given us.

Each one of us is born with our own unique toolbox of gifts that God, the foreman of our lives, has given us. While on this earth, we are given the task of discovering and using our unique gifts to bring glory to His kingdom. Maybe we have the gift of hospitality, sharing God’s Word through teaching, or being generous with our time. At the end of our lives, we will give a reckoning to God for the way we’ve shared our gifts. It is important to not let fear get in the way of sharing our gifts. Our task is to be faithful in sharing, and God will produce the fruit in our lives.

 

3-Doing small things with great love.

Mother Teresa said, “There are no great things, only small things with great love.”

We don’t need to do big and lofty things as we go about our daily lives. What matters in the Kingdom of Heaven is living with a heart full of love as we go about our lives. We are encouraged to stand firm in our faith, be strong, and share God’s love.

 

 

HOW CAN WE TRAIN BETTER TO ENDURE FOR THE DURATION OF OUR RACE?

Have an accountability person or two that can keep you on the right track.

Read Scripture daily to see how God is guiding you and keeping you on track with running your race.

Take time to be still with God and stay tethered to Him to hear Him speak in the stillness.

Strip away fear, and let your faith be greater than your fear. Faith helps us grow, but fear paralyzes us.

Meet with other faithful runners in this race to encourage one another and share prayers.

 

 

 

Be encouraged this week to…

 

…keep running your race faithfully.

…keep your eyes on the prize of eternal life.

…remember how a runner who has gone on to be with the Lord impacted your life.

 

REFLECTION:

What is one thing you can start doing to help run your race more successfully?
What is one action you can take to train better to run your race with endurance?

 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  –2 Timothy 4:7  (NIV)