I recently finished my first 5K. I planned on walking the whole time. I just wanted to finish. The reason why I wanted to walk the whole time was because I had a foot injury several years ago from playing a sport I love and have been out of shape ever since then. I was in great shape before my injury and have been working hard to get back in shape ever since. Even though I walked most of the time, I actually ended up running some and was proud of myself for doing such. It’s hard not to run when you see others run. You kind of get swept up in it, or at least I do (it’s the competitiveness in me).
While I was walking/running the 5K, I had my music in my headphones and really just got to spend time with the Lord. I had no idea how much he would speak to me through this race. It really was amazing all that he deposited into my spirit. As a Christian, there really is so much that we can learn from running a race. At the beginning of the race, I was excited. I had been preparing for this day and the adrenaline got to me. I was ready to go! I was actually moving pretty fast. A friend of mine (that frequently runs 5Ks) was texting me while I was walking and she even stated it was amazing how fast I was moving. She had planned to be there with me but her family had been sick that day.
About halfway through the race, I started looking behind me. I was curious to see who was behind me and how far back they were. The more I looked back the slower I got. I was no longer looking ahead, I was looking back. It was in that moment that I felt like God said “Melissa, run your race.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 says “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” See, this race we are running is our own. It’s not anyone else’s race to run. We should all be running like we are the only one that can win. Someone very dear to my heart used to tell me “run the race like you are the only one that can win. Don’t slow down for others. Run your race. Those that are meant to run with you will keep up with you and will run beside you.” When I started to look back, I slowed down. I was concerned about those that were behind me. When we run after the things God has for us with all of our heart, we can’t slow down for those that are behind us. We have to keep running. We can encourage them to join us but we can’t slow down to wait for them.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Run your race! Set your eyes on Jesus! I will do the same.
Once I got towards the end of the race, I was definitely exhausted but I knew I had to finish. I started running again and someone looked at me and said “Keep going! Way to finish strong!” Which by the way, I was amazed at the amount of people that were encouraging one another. Whether they were on the sidelines cheering or running the race themselves, there was a lot of encouragement. It’s a good reminder that no matter if we are running the race as well or on the sidelines, we can still encourage others to run their race. It’s not a competition when we are racing to God. Even if it were, we could still encourage each other to run their very best race. My pastor used to tell me “Run the race like it’s the last 100 yards.” Even though I was tired, I pushed through and finished the race as hard as I could. I finished strong.
It is my prayer, that I will always run my race and run it with all of my heart. I encourage you to do the same. Just like in a 5K, some run fast and some run slow, but it’s our race to run. So no matter if you run fast, or run slow, run with all of your heart. Run as if you are the only one that can win the prize. See, God doesn’t care who runs the fastest, as long as we are running to him with all of our heart. God Bless.