Every day as I go to work, I am reminded of how personal and private the race of life is. I get out of my house and walk to the bus stop, I am not alone in the journey to the bus stop but again not all of us on the road will board the same bus. I get into the bus and join the road where other cars were already traveling. Here, I learn that we don’t all have the same entry point into life.
As we keep going, we pass other vehicles, while others bypass our bus. This way I discover we are not traveling through life at the same speed because each vehicle is built differently. As we move on, passengers alight and others board at different destinations. This reminded me that we all don’t have the same exit point. We are all on this journey called life. We will enter at different points and exit at different points, but one thing is clear; we will all exit this road at a point in time. It may be 100km run God has given you, or it could be 1000km; what is important is that each of us runs our race well.
A car has side mirrors and a rear-view mirror that are used to see either side and behind the car respectively. Some cars will be behind us, while others may be beside us for a while. That said, we also know how dangerous it is to focus all our time looking at these mirrors as they will distract you. Remember that a car has got a large windscreen in front that gives the best view of the potential in front of us and the resources we can attain.
We should neither spend precious time looking back to see those following us nor looking sideways to see those working to overtake us. We must keep our eyes forward and stay true to our individual races. When it is time to exit the road, we would know that we have run the race well and ended well.
Who sets the course?
Marathon runners do not make up their own course, rather the course is set by an authority so that, if they stray from the course they are disqualified. Our race in life is already set before us by God is the Sovereign One just as He set the course of the cross for Jesus.
To finish our spiritual marathon, it is important to always keep in mind that it is the Sovereign God who sets the course. We may not enjoy parts of the course. We may complain and ask, “Why did the course have to go over this hill, or through this swamp?” The answer is, “Because the Sovereign God planned it that way.” You won’t be able to run by faith unless you submit your will to His will.
May we walk with God in this journey of life.
Heb 12:1-2 NIV
1 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
Magdaline ’11