Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.”
I am a runner and when I was in high school, I ran my first half marathon. We trained and practiced for months and months, and our coach drilled into us the importance of pacing ourselves so we didn’t run out of energy. The method was to begin the race at a pace you could maintain the entire 13 miles and then when the last mile came, you were supposed use all that you had within you, and pick up the pace so you could finish the race strong. Everyone’s pace was different, and if I tried to pace myself with girls who ran faster than me, I never did well. I learned what my pace was and ran by myself, knowing that even if some of those girls passed me up, at the end, I would meet my objective, to run the race well and to finish well. It was a very personal thing and when I crossed the finish line, there was a satisfaction in my soul that I did my very best and I was always pleased with the results, even if I finished in the middle of the pack. I have to be honest with you here, in this time of being quarantined, I have been running ahead of God. My eyes have been glued to the news every day, and each night, instead of spending time with my Savior, I have been distracted with the latest updates regarding what is going on in the world.
Genesis 5:22 says, “Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.” If you think about this scripture, Enoch walked with God for a very long time and Enoch never grew weary and never grew faint. This scripture teaches the importance of pacing ourselves in the spiritual race we are running. So many people have yo-yo relationships with God; they go through seasons of their lives where they are passionate, and seasons of their lives where there is absolutely no spiritual connection at all. Many people only reach out to the Lord when they are in a crisis or when a deep valley comes, and they need to get out of the dark pit they are in. Yes, the Lord is always faithful, and He is always there whenever we call on Him, but then when the skies are blue and the sun is shining, we tend to forget about our relationship with Him until we get into a tight spot, then when the winds and storms come, we are reaching out to Him again. Although I spend each morning with the Lord, reading the Word and I continue to be involved in several Bible studies, my down time has not been constructive for my spiritual growth.
Genesis 17:1 says, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” I love that the Bible compares the Christian life not only to running, but to walking. Now that I am older and have bad knees as a result of running most of my life, I am relegated to walking and a few years ago, I walked a half marathon. I didn’t finish anywhere near the front of the pack, in fact, I was one of the last few to finish the race, but I was very happy that I finished in the time allotted and for me, it was a significant personal accomplishment. Romans 13:13 says, “Let us walk properly,” and 2 John 6 says, “Walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.” Just like running or walking in a race, the objective is to finish the race; the same is true in the spiritual race. The objective isn’t to run fast; it is to go the long haul and to finish. If I want to grow spiritually, I need to pace myself for the race of life; I need to talk and walk with my Creator daily so I can be “be strong and courageous.” I need to remember, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9) And so today, while the Lord has hit the “pause button” on my life, I am coming to Him and asking Him to refine me with His Refiner’s fire so that I can see through His eyes, what He wants me to see. Today, I will turn off the world and turn on His channel to hear and to see what He wants to say to me, what He wants to show me and what He wants to do in me and through me. I am breathing a sigh of relief as I once again turn my will and my life over to Him and trust Him for His faithfulness that is new every morning. I will run the race and not grow weary; I will walk and not be faint, for the Lord my God continues to renew my strength when I am walking with Him.
I am a runner and when I was in high school, I ran my first half marathon. We trained and practiced for months and months, and our coach drilled into us the importance of pacing ourselves so we didn’t run out of energy. The method was to begin the race at a pace you could maintain the entire 13 miles and then when the last mile came, you were supposed use all that you had within you, and pick up the pace so you could finish the race strong. Everyone’s pace was different, and if I tried to pace myself with girls who ran faster than me, I never did well. I learned what my pace was and ran by myself, knowing that even if some of those girls passed me up, at the end, I would meet my objective, to run the race well and to finish well. It was a very personal thing and when I crossed the finish line, there was a satisfaction in my soul that I did my very best and I was always pleased with the results, even if I finished in the middle of the pack. I have to be honest with you here, in this time of being quarantined, I have been running ahead of God. My eyes have been glued to the news every day, and each night, instead of spending time with my Savior, I have been distracted with the latest updates regarding what is going on in the world.
Genesis 5:22 says, “Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.” If you think about this scripture, Enoch walked with God for a very long time and Enoch never grew weary and never grew faint. This scripture teaches the importance of pacing ourselves in the spiritual race we are running. So many people have yo-yo relationships with God; they go through seasons of their lives where they are passionate, and seasons of their lives where there is absolutely no spiritual connection at all. Many people only reach out to the Lord when they are in a crisis or when a deep valley comes, and they need to get out of the dark pit they are in. Yes, the Lord is always faithful, and He is always there whenever we call on Him, but then when the skies are blue and the sun is shining, we tend to forget about our relationship with Him until we get into a tight spot, then when the winds and storms come, we are reaching out to Him again. Although I spend each morning with the Lord, reading the Word and I continue to be involved in several Bible studies, my down time has not been constructive for my spiritual growth.
Genesis 17:1 says, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” I love that the Bible compares the Christian life not only to running, but to walking. Now that I am older and have bad knees as a result of running most of my life, I am relegated to walking and a few years ago, I walked a half marathon. I didn’t finish anywhere near the front of the pack, in fact, I was one of the last few to finish the race, but I was very happy that I finished in the time allotted and for me, it was a significant personal accomplishment. Romans 13:13 says, “Let us walk properly,” and 2 John 6 says, “Walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.” Just like running or walking in a race, the objective is to finish the race; the same is true in the spiritual race. The objective isn’t to run fast; it is to go the long haul and to finish. If I want to grow spiritually, I need to pace myself for the race of life; I need to talk and walk with my Creator daily so I can be “be strong and courageous.” I need to remember, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9) And so today, while the Lord has hit the “pause button” on my life, I am coming to Him and asking Him to refine me with His Refiner’s fire so that I can see through His eyes, what He wants me to see. Today, I will turn off the world and turn on His channel to hear and to see what He wants to say to me, what He wants to show me and what He wants to do in me and through me. I am breathing a sigh of relief as I once again turn my will and my life over to Him and trust Him for His faithfulness that is new every morning. I will run the race and not grow weary; I will walk and not be faint, for the Lord my God continues to renew my strength when I am walking with Him.
