Just Keep Running

Last night was another one of those rare nights where I had a pretty elaborate dream and I actually remembered it. Somehow, I ended up being in an endurance marathon. I call it that because it was extremely long and there were all these different obstacle course type situations we had to go through. We trained for days – running the route and learning how to navigate through all the obstacles. I just followed along with the group not thinking much of it.

Well, the next thing you know it was race day. Everybody was suited up and taking their positions at the starting line. On your mark, get set, go! We all took off on this long road ahead. It didn’t take long for me to notice that out of everyone who started out with me, there were only two of us left. Running right near me was a young man who had gone to school with one of my children who was kind of known for doing all things well. “Oh, boy! This is my competition?” I thought to myself.

We were running along the straightway for quite a while before we made it to the first building we had to go through. In the building, down the hall, up the stairs and out the back. That one was pretty easy to navigate. They would all be tougher from there.

A few minutes later, we approached two identical doors. It was obvious that both doors were open and all I had to do was go in. But which one was the one that led to where I was supposed to go next? I didn’t recall noticing a second door during the training. I paused for a while to contemplate which door I should go through and the young man was standing there with me. I decided just to keep straight ahead since I didn’t remember veering off to the left during training. As soon as I went through the door, there was another door. But this time it was shut. I definitely didn’t remember this being the case during training. As I stood there a few seconds more trying to decided what to do, it also dawned on me that I had never been the first one to make it to any of these destinations during practice. So, things may have looked exactly like this before but I was just never aware of it because someone had always gone before me and opened the door. I decided to go ahead and grab the knob. Even though the door was closed, it wasn’t locked. As soon as I went through it, I knew I was in the right place.

I was just about to take off when I noticed the young man wasn’t behind me. Wait! Did he decide to go through the other door? I turned around to go see. To be honest, I’m not sure if I went back to make sure I made the right decision or to make sure he didn’t make the wrong decision. Whatever the case, when I went back and opened the door, there he was standing there laughing at me as if he knew I’d be back. We both took off along the course.

As we raced through the winding tunnels of this building, we came to a point where there was this huge wooden wheel suspended above our heads. We had to grab it with our hands and using sheer upper body strength, we had to peddle our way up several winding floors. And to make matters even worse, there was only one wheel. So, since I got there first, I went. As I gained some momentum, I began to wonder how we were going to get the wheel back down so my competitor could peddle his way up. I turned around and asked him what he thought. As he stood there looking perplexed, I said, “I guess I’ll just have to bring it back down to you.” I continued along the excruciating journey and as I turned the corner, I noticed a man sitting on a bench sleeping. I awakened him and asked him if he was there to return the wheel to the next racer and he said, “Yes.” So, I gave him the wheel and continued on.

The next building I had to navigate was a little different. Yes, it was a physically challenging obstacle course with its long, winding, narrow staircases but what was even more challenging to face was the evil presence that I sensed when I walked in. I wanted to turn around but I knew this was the way I was supposed to go. So, I just started screaming the name of Jesus to the top of my lungs as I went. As I was approaching the top of the stairwell, it sounded like maybe there were some people up there, so I stopped screaming. When I looked down and made eye contact with the other runner, he started shouting the name of Jesus, as if to encourage me not to stop. When I got all the way to the top, I noticed there was a small group of people up there having what appeared to be a church service (although they were very somber and appeared to be extremely lethargic). I apologized for interrupting them and started to race on. Then all of a sudden, a song rose up in me and I just starting singing it out. A few minutes later, the small congregation joined in. They were standing, clapping, singing, and full of life. I smiled and continued on my journey.

After making my way though several other interesting places, I had finally gotten a little bit of a lead on my competition. I was happy not only because of that but also because I knew the next door led to outside where I could finally see some sunshine and get some fresh air. After running for a while, I made it to the beach. As I was running through the sand, it was as if I didn’t remember it being this hard before. The instability underneath my feet was making it extremely tough to press on. Then all of a sudden, I notice this lady that I knew. She was lying out on the beach in her cute little bikini. I called her name to speak to her. She waved and I kept running. A few minutes later, I noticed she was running with me. We talked the entire way though the unsteady terrain. Just as we were approaching the home stretch, a toddler jumped up, grabbed on to one of my legs, and refused to let go. He was weighing me down. As I tried to shake him off, I noticed the other racer come out the door. Instead of running around the entire beach, he cut right through to where I was. I commented to him that I thought we had to go all the way around and that I didn’t know we could go out one door and enter right into the next.

I turned around to continue on and then suddenly, I woke up. I woke up from my dream. I silently cried, “No! I want to know how this ended. I want to know if I won!” And it was almost immediately that I sensed that still small voice whisper to me, “He was not your competitor. He was your helper.” When I wasn’t sure which way to go, He guided me. When I was afraid, He encouraged me to just keep calling on the name of Jesus. When it was getting really hard and I felt like giving up, He sent a friend to run alongside me. For my entire journey, I was not racing against someone. I was racing with Someone! That’s when I realized I had already won. The race was not given to the swift, but to he who endured to the end.

Maybe today, as you’re running your race, you’re finding yourself fatigued, lost, scared or alone. Maybe the obstacles you’ve faced seem overwhelming and to be too much to bear. Maybe you’ve been distracted by comparison – focusing more on your assumed competition than on your assigned course. Well, let me encourage you today. As children of God, the only way we lose is if we give up. The only way we don’t win our race, is if we stop running. That means your only competitor, is yourself. So, don’t settle for defeat when you were created to win. Just. Keep. Running.

Questions to Ask

·      Are you running your race, have you given up or are you taking a prolonged break?

·      What training have you gone through to prepare you for your race?

·      Who is it that you see as your competitor when they were actually sent to be your helper?

Scriptures to Study

·      1 Corinthians 9:24-27

·      Hebrews 12:1

·      Isaiah 40:31

·      Ecclesiastes 9:11

·      2 Timothy 4:7

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