The Race

Bella, at age 3, is in constant motion, but she's not always going in the direction we want her to go. Sometimes, I'll say, "Let's race to the kitchen" or wherever I need her to be. So, we stand side by side in the room we are in and she'll point to the floor and say, "Mamaw, this is the finish line".

I keep telling her "No, that's the starting line.  The finish line is in the other room," but she doesn't seem to understand that just yet.

Wouldn't it be nice if the race, with all its blood, sweat, and tears, was already run?  Right now, when the world seems to be upside down and we're all snuggled into our homes practicing "social distancing" - wouldn't it be great if the danger was over and life was back to normal?  It takes a lot of effort, discipline, and intestinal fortitude to deal with all the problems life gives to us.  Life is difficult and nobody likes things to be hard.  We like the celebration at the end when we've met a goal, but not so much the work that it takes to reach that goal.

The New Testament references the term "race" often.  Paul was bound, in chains, and on his way to  tribulation in Jerusalem when he said, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24)

He later encourages believers by saying, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it. ( 1 Corinthians 9:24).

Nearing the end of his life, he states, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

Reminding us that we are all in this together, he says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)

You see, the race isn't part of the Christian life - it IS the Christian life.  Sometimes the road we're running on is flat and pleasant; other times it is rocky and the rain obscures our vision as we run, but we're always racing.  Right now, you may be racing by becoming a schoolteacher/parent, or by working from home, or by losing income and trusting God for provision, or by working many hours caring for those who are sick with any of the hundreds of things that can attack a human body, including COVID-19.

In the natural, if you ever see me running, it will only be because someone is chasing me! Running is not my preferred mode of exercise.  I've never experienced a "runner's high" which is a feeling of  stress lifting, a feeling of elation, and decreased sensitivity to pain.  This comes due to a release of endorphins (a natural chemical in your body) that occurs when you exercise.

However, one thing I have learned in my race of life is that the sweetest times - those times of joy, a reduction of stress, and less pain in my life, happen when I'm actively pursuing God - often in some of the worst circumstances of my life when joy seems to be the last thing I'd be feeling, when stress and pain are high.  The exercise of the pursuit is what releases the Holy Spirit's ministry in my life and produces that which is needed.  As my pastor preached to an empty room this morning via the internet, he said that when you don't know what to do, you should wait upon the Lord, worship in the midst of the situation, and you will win the race.