RUN THE RACE~
we are told.
But what if you don't like to RUN
and you do not like to RACE~
do you have to
RUN THE RACE?
Oh yes.
"Let us RUN..."*
But RUNNING is hard.and I will sweat.
"Let us RUN THE RACE with endurance and active persistence..."*
But I have no energy left.
But you have no choice because
"the RACE that is set before us"*
Ugh.
There is a RACE
for you & me & everyone else
that is so personalized
that no one else can RUN your RACE
but only you.
You can sit and be still and look at your sneakers
or you can get up
and put on one shoe at a time
and take a moment
to take your eyes off of everything else that is stripping away all of your energy~
"[looking away from all that will distract us and]"*
And releasing all the extra weight that is keeping your feet on the ground~
"stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us"*
And getting a new focus~
"focusing our eyes on JESUS, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith"*(Hebrews 12:1-2)
You still don't wanna RUN
because you are tired of
THE RACE that you have to RUN
but
no one else can RUN it for you,
yet SOMEONE will RUN it with you
as
HE goes before you.
HE paves the way.
HE fills you with such strength
that weakness is no longer a choice
because
you can't do it
because
you don't like to RUN
&
you don't like RACES
but
the moment you
take that first step of FAITH~
"the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed),
and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]" (Hebrews 11)
And tie your right shoe & then your left.
And look up.
There you see HIM waiting for you
with HIS hands reaching out
as HE speaks~
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)
So you drop all your hinderances & entanglements
and put on endurance & PERSEVERANCE,
yet it doesn't feel like you are sweating
because your eyes are so fixed on JESUS
who is going before you
that RUNNING doesn't feel like a sprint
as it is more of a steadfast continuous walk
and you realize that your RACE isn't that bad
because you already won the PRIZE
even though you just started RUNNING
because HE is standing at the finish line
with opened arms.
And you said you don't RUN.
And you said you don't like to RACE.
But you are RUNNING THE RACE
and RUNNING never felt so good
because you never RUN THE RACE alone.
Watch this amazing testimony of finishing the race by an Olympiad.