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Finishing the Race

JodiApril 11, 2021

I have never liked running. I recall being forced to run in PE in junior high and was never able to get the breathing thing right and my bottom lip would ache and I was sure my heart was going to beat out of my chest and quite frankly, I look like an idiot when I run. Several years ago in a moment of insanity I signed my husband and I up for a half marathon. On a beach. In case you didn’t know, that is 13.1 miles in the SAND. I had envisioned something in my head like Chariots of Fire and thought the beauty of the surf would distract me from the pain in my lip and my legs. We ran about a month after a major hurricane had hit said beach and we actually ran under a house that had been pushed into the surf (was that even safe?) and at one point passed a washed up dead smelly shark carcass. It reminded me to keep running or that would be my fate as well. I hated every minute of it, but I did it. There may or may not have been some walking for several miles and some pain medication involved. Nevertheless, I crossed the finish line. I have not felt compelled to do it again, but I think there was a purpose for that race and more and more I think it was to prepare me for living in the world today.

It’s been some time since my last post. Like everyone, I have been distracted by life and the rapidly changing circumstances of this world. The Lord is calling me back to talk to those whose hearts are still searching for His truth because time is running out my friends. My last post was the end of 2020. Since then, I feel like we have been on a high speed roller coaster. I had a thought the other day- something I had alluded to in a previous post. I recalled those days that would come from time to time when “all was right in the world” at least for a moment and I had a glimpse of heaven. Now I can’t remember when I last had one of those days and I’m not entirely sure I ever will again. It is mind boggling to think how life is so incredibly different in the span of a little over a year. If you weren’t convinced last year that we were in the last days, you should be by now. The spirit of deception is rampant and every day is like living in the Twilight Zone; except it’s not a TV series, it is a literal real time playing out of the book of Revelation and all the prophecies about the end of days.

If you are a Christian, there are obvious signs: what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right, Christian persecution is ramping up, the nation and the world is giving up freedoms willingly while being groomed for the Mark of the Beast, deception and lies are all around us and people are falling for them. The writing is on the wall but even most pastors are not preaching the truth and warning their flock, instead sticking to feel good politically correct sermons and worrying more about social justice than salvation. I thank the Lord that my pastor is not one of them. For those who are actively seeking the Lord and who have a true relationship with him, we instinctively know what is about to happen. How do we know? The Holy Spirit is preparing us and there is a consensus among believers like never before.

All that being said, I have also come to realize that while it is a very difficult thing to be living during this time, it is also a privilege and like every difficult thing God asks us to do in life, he will and is giving us all the tools we need not only to persevere until the end, but to shine brighter than ever before so we can reach the lost while there is still time. It truly is a race with Jesus’ return being the finish line. So daily I endure a pain that is not exactly an aching in my legs or bottom lip, but there is discomfort. I didn’t embrace the pain during my half marathon, but I am embracing it now. It reminds me that I am running toward my true home and that the race is almost over. Some days I feel like I’m running in sand again with such a weight on my body and soul that I wonder how I will ever make it. But Jesus is constantly sending me messages of encouragement, cheering me on from the sidelines and telling me he will be there at the end to take me home.

Today’s glimpse of heaven came when I was listening to a song by Tasha Layton called “Love Lifting Me.” There is a lyric that says:

God I know Your voice, it carries

And I hear You, every “I love you”

So would you hold on to these burdens

‘Cause they weigh me down and I wanna run with You

For the first time in my life I had a desire to run- with Jesus in heaven. I could see it, all my fears and doubts left behind and running with abandon across a field of wildflowers, head tilted back and laughing as my Savior ran with me, also laughing. I know I will do it one day and it gives me strength to face whatever tomorrow brings. Sometimes it’s the small things that keep us going, you know? God is good. ❤️

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3