Grace to Run Your Own Race

 

During one of my jogs, I came across a man running alongside me on the opposite side of the road but in the same direction as me. I thought to myself, “Ha! He can’t beat me! Who does he think he is? I will show him that I can keep up with him and beat him!” In his defense, he was just on his regular daily runs, minding his business not knowing he was up against me, the “Greatest of All Time!” Actually, he was not...I am far from it, but in my mind, I needed that mental motivation to get through the last few miles. During this internal competition that I was having with the unknowing man across the street, I realized the harder I tried to pass him the more exhausted and harder I had to work to excel in a race that wasn’t intended to be run by me. I noticed his comfortable relaxed pace during his run; not stressing or straining while I was growing more and more tired, losing breath, and falling apart all because I was trying to run a race that wasn’t meant for me. It was at that moment I heard God say, “I didn’t give you the grace for his race, I gave you the grace for your race.” Exhausted, I quickly slowed down to catch my breath and began to refocus on my own run. As I took a brief moment to watch the man continue to excel further ahead, I noticed him veer off and soon realized that our running routes were different and we weren’t even going in the same direction. I was so focused on running someone else’s race that I almost missed the direction God was trying to take me.

New York best-selling author Pastor Joel Osteen, who is also an advanced runner, talks about a time when he was on one of his typical runs and began an internal competition with a runner in front of him. He was so focused on catching up and passing this runner that he missed his turn and found himself miles from his run route and from his home. The enemy uses these tactics to distract and detour you and keep you from the destiny God has for you. Did you know that anything outside of God’s will for your life is not a part of your race? Things that don’t align with your purpose or the path predestined for your future are matters that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with. The bible says in Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us…keeping our eyes on Jesus the source and perfecter of our faith.” 

Some so many people deal with health issues, depression, or other mental and physical illnesses because they are unhappy living someone else’s dream or doing something to please others. We even find ourselves living our entire lives following our parent’s dreams and expectations, and not according to our own passions and desires. God’s grace is only sufficient for YOU and not the dreams and expectations of our parents or loved ones.  The bible says in Jeremiah 12:5, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” If you have given all of your time and energy to appease the will of others, how will you have enough energy when it comes time to align with the will of God? What will you have in reserve when it is time to run your own race?

God only gives us enough grace for our own race, and when we function outside of our grace we fail to function at our best. I remember working for a company in a role where I had the abilities to do the job, but because I was not aligned with my passion, I didn’t have the grace for it. Yes, I could do the job but it wasn’t something that I enjoyed or that gave me purpose. However, I continued to do the work only to make money in hopes that one day I would love it or use it to advance myself to another role that was more suited for me. Unfortunately, that never happened. I stayed in that role, and the longer I stayed, the more stressed I became. The more stressed I became, the more health issues I obtained, and worse than anything, more time had passed which misdirected me away from what God had for my life. Needless to say, God removed me from that role but kept me there long enough for me to realize that everything that I do going forward has to be in alignment with God’s will for my life; anything outside of that I will never have the grace for it nor will I find peace or happiness in it. The bible says in Acts 20:24 “...my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me..”

There will always be someone faster, smarter, further along, stronger, and more advanced than you. Your job is not to focus and duplicate their run, but to use their journey as motivation to go where God has destined for only you to go. God gives us a sufficient amount of grace only when we are in alignment with His will and it is during those times when we feel weak and tired that He provides us with the power to keep pushing forward as long as we run our own race.