Run With Endurance

So let us RUN with ENDURANCE this race set before us KNOWING the AUTHOR and PERFECTER of our FAITH.

Again this phrase keeps playing over and over and over in my head as I run. At first it was just kind of at the back of my head over and over again but the more I think about it the more I realize it’s actually what my life should look like as well.

Life happens. With its ups and downs and good and bad, it happens. Every day it happens. Sometimes we get a choice of what happens and sometimes we just get to deal with others choices. Sometimes things just happen for no apparent reason at all. If we sit around and wait for everything to be okay and line up the way we think it should we could be waiting a really long time. I’ve had this misguided idea that when things finally work out the way I want them to, THEN I can start living. Funny isn’t it. That will never happen. It will never be perfect while I’m here on this earth. At times it might even be less than ideal. I’ve been walking through life waiting for it to start and have forgotten that I need to be running this race with endurance. When you run, you train to run any kind of distance. You don’t wake up one day and run 20 miles, or at least I don’t know anyone that does  What I do know is that it takes hard work and discipline to run, even a short distance for some….like me  It’s like that with life. I somehow think I should just be able to get up each day and live a life of faith without having to work at it. Without having to discipline myself to read, to study, to do anything. I just want to be able to hit the “easy” button and have it all figured out. That’s not the case. You have to train for life. Not to the point where you choke the life out of it and it becomes only about the training and there’s no longer any joy, but you do have to work at it.

Second-it’s about running with endurance. Like with so many things in life I want them to happen right now. Maybe it’s because of the world we live in where we expect to get things the minute we want them. We have an entire culture built upon getting what you want and getting it now. Maybe it’s my lack of patience due to my ADHD  or maybe it’s a combo but it would be really nice to know all I need to know about faith right and life right now. Because now is what I can see. But….it’s not about now. It’s about running for the long haul. It’s about realizing that what I do now will also determine who I am later on. If I get tired or board and give up I’ll never reach the end of the race. I’ll never achieve my goal. I’ll never finish.
The next phrase is something that just stood out to me today. Knowing the author and perfecter of our faith. . If I know what I’m running for I’m more likely to finish because I have a goal or a cause. With life, I can KNOW the author and perfector of my faith. If I know Him, then I know He is trust worthy, faithful, strong, full of love and grace. He wants what is best for me. He didn’t set this race out to trip me up or taunt me. He knows the race and He knows I can do it. He built the track and knows every step of it. I just have to KNOW Him in order to know where I’m going and how to get there. Better yet, He is willing to run along side of me and show me the way. What an advantage to finishing strong.

God is the author and pefecter of my faith. He wrote me into being. He knows my story. He sees what I’m going through and is moving me on toward the goal, toward Him if I’m willing. My faith isn’t perfect but it’s not even about that. It’s about moving toward the goal, not being perfect before I even start the race. It’s about living life, not having to have it all figured out before I start. God wrote me into being, created a story for me, walks with me on the journey and keeps me moving toward the goal and prize of finishing the race and finishing strong.

When I take my eyes off of Him, off of the finish line. When I give up because it’s too much work and too hard, when I think I have to have it all figured out before I even start the race I miss the point entirely. It’s not the 100 meter dash; it’s the cross country distance. It’s about realizing that I might have to stop a time or two along the way, but I can keep going. It’s about understanding that I really can run with endurance the race set before me BECAUSE I do KNOW the author and perfector of my faith. It’s about realizing that sometimes it’s just that. It’s faith. It’s not knowing how I’m going to get there but moving in the right direction and knowing who is running alongside me and that He knows how the race ends and how to get me there. It’s about seeing those in front of me finish strong and cheering on those still yet to come. It’s not about me winning the race alone but finishing strong so that others can be encouraged to continue the race as well.

May I, may WE RUN WELL the race set before us.
Hebrews 12 :1-3