Refuse to give up

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 NIV

"Well... how'd it go?” I asked my dear friend Rebecca as soon as I answered her call Saturday afternoon anticipating a full race recap. "It was absolutely brutal," she replied and then went on to describe her experience at the Berryman trail marathon that morning. "It was so dark in the woods because of the storms that I really needed a headlamp. The rain and the wind were torrential. At one point we could feel the lightning in our feet and there were several downed trees because of the storm. You're right when you told me that it was super technical too. There were lots of roots and rocks and I fell a couple of times." "Oh my,"  I responded knowing first hand that difficulties are just a part of trail running. "Long story short," Rebecca went on to relay, "I received my first DNF, something I hoped I would never do." Sensing my friend's disappointment, I said, "Welcome to the club! I know you don't want to hear this but every runner will eventually experience at least one DNF." And then we both had a good laugh when I said, "Great job on getting your's out of the way." 

And you know, while a DNF (Did Not Finish) is not something a runner necessarily wants to get, it's something every runner who runs for a lifetime will get, it's just the nature of running long distances for long periods of time. The same is true in our spiritual lives. Consider the life of Paul who in 2 Timothy boldly declared, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." You can be sure this didn't mean Paul won every fight. In fact, there were times in his life when it appeared that Paul had acquired a DNF--like the time he was stoned and left for dead outside of Lystra or when he failed to win over all the people by his preaching at Iconium. But this is the deal.... Paul always got up and Paul always pressed on, just as you and I need to. We will face persecution, we will face trials, we will grow weary from the battle, and we will even fall sometimes... but we WILL finish the final race if we, like Paul, refuse to give up. 

So no matter what you're facing today my friend or how many battles you've already lost, your race can only be counted as a Did Not Finish if you bow out short of the final finish line. There are hundreds of runs along your “race” that will be difficult and even seemingly impossible to complete. But keep getting up and keep pressing on until the end. It will be so worth it!

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that this race to the finish will not be easy. Knowing that, give us strength for the battle that lies ahead, grit in the face of our failures, and the determination to press on until the day we finally enter into our final resting place and spend eternity with You. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!