"A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1 NKJV
One of the things I love most about organizing and directing ultra marathon races is witnessing people accomplish things they thought were impossible. Such was the case over the weekend at the 10th Annual Racing for Daylight 12-Hour Ultra. Brought to the community as a free event (thanks to some amazing sponsors), the laid-back nature of this race inspires people to just show up and challenge themselves.
One of those people was my dear friend and sister-in-Christ, Lauren (pictured above), who posted this Sunday afternoon after getting some much needed sleep and reflecting back on the events of the last 12 hours (race began at 6:00 p.m. Saturday and ended at 7:00 a.m Sunday to compensate for DST):
Two weeks ago Emily Turner texted me about a Racing for Daylight event that I might be interested in.
My first thought: Great opportunity to get 20 miles in.
The furthest I had ever gone before?
A half marathon last March.
Last night 20 miles turned into 30… then 31.
And at 6:58 AM we crossed the finish line after walking 31 miles.
All night I kept reminding myself of Gods word and something I learned from Jesse Itzler & Chad Wright:
Don’t give your pain a voice.
Pain will always try to tell you to slow down, stop, or quit.
But discomfort doesn’t get to decide the outcome.
So we focused on three things:
• Don’t quit
• Stay grateful
• Trust God with every step
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
— Philippians 4:13
How I started my day had a massive impact on my thoughts and what I spoke. Earlier that morning I attended the IF Women’s Conference at Spearhead, and one message stuck with me all night...
“God uses ordinary people who say yes.”
So I just kept saying yes.
One step at a time.
The best part of the night was the people beside me. We laughed, encouraged each other, and kept repeating: We feel outstanding. We never get tired.
What started as a joke became a declaration.
And before we knew it, 31 miles were behind us.
Looking back, I know without a doubt God carried me through every step.
Sometimes He calls us into uncomfortable places not to break us, but to show us what’s possible when we trust Him.
Still feeling waves of gratitude today.
Incredibly thankful for the friends who made this one of the best nights ever... All the glory goes to God.
And, you know, as Lauren's story illustrates, it's a good thing to have godly friends! Lauren started the day off at a women's conference (fellowshipping with fellow sisters in Christ) and then ran with a group of godly friends that evening, and even made new godly friends along the way!
These women at the conference didn't all belong to the same church (aka house of worship) but shared blessed unity together as members of the body of Christ. And the ones she walked with later, who many of which also didn’t belong to the same church, helped her complete an ultramarathon!!! All because they had one another and were united in their mission to finish.
This blessed unity is so priceless in strengthening, building up, and encouraging us to be all that God designed us to be that the psalmist, King David, declared, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
This exhortation to "behold" was a call to take notice of, or observe, the unity (or state of being united or joined as a whole) among the people of God—unity that is good because it reflects God's heart and purpose of the church to demonstrate harmony, joy, contentment, and peace—as compared to the disunity of the world that is always seeking and striving, and bickering and complaining.
This unity allowed Lauren and her friends to keep laughing, to keep praising, and to keep walking for 12 hours to complete something that was seemingly impossible! What they were doing was hard but their unity gave them joy, strength, and purpose. Their unity was both good and uplifting—-something that I witnessed as I ran the race myself and passed them many times along the three mile loop and heard their laughter and words of encouragement.
And think about this... not everything that is good is pleasant and not everything that is pleasant is good. But unity among God's people is both! It's good and pleasant and sets our relationships apart from the world's.
"It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore." Psalm 133:2-3
In fact, unity among believers is so good and so pleasant that the psalmist went on to describe it to be like "precious oil upon the head," so rich and abundant that it overflowed and came down the beard; reminding us that true Christian unity and fellowship is a rare and precious blessing and makes God's peoples lives thriving and healthy. Hence the reason we should strive to have it! It's as refreshing as the "dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion."
"not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25
So, knowing that we all have a race to run and that the timeclock is ticking to get it done, let us not forsake meeting with our brothers and sisters my friend. But let us look for opportunities to assemble together as often as we can for mutual edification and sharpening, that we might not only make it to the finish line on time but would inspire others to join us along the way and have an opportunity to give God all the glory for our success.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that unity in the body of Christ is a beautiful thing that sets us apart. Lord, help us to run the race with endurance and to do our part in making the body of Christ unified. Help us to remember that church is not a building but the individual members of the family of God that we might experience the priceless blessings that come with fellowship with the whole body. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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