I like to do triathlons. It isn’t that I am some fitness queen who dominates the age group I am competing with. No, it is the comradere, the electric atmosphere, and the sense of accomplishment when crossing the finish line. It is during these races that I learned what true endurance is. It has carried over into my personal life, and in my relationship with the Lord.
With that said, I hate running. Despise it. I run funny, it hurts my body, and I often feel like I will literally die while running. In fact, the only time I run is during the last leg of a triathlon, or if I am being chased.
God has been chasing me for years. Actually, I think He has been chasing me my entire life. There are times when I have stopped running; but there has always been a season that comes around that causes me to put on those proverbial running shoes and take off again.
Something else has been chasing me as well: the Enemy. That is a different kind of chase. He chases like a bounty hunter, seeking to destroy or entrap me and every other human being.
The Lord chases because He is lovestruck by us. He is deeply in love with each and every one of us.
In this season of my life, I have felt myself itching to put those shoes on again. Instead of running this time, I have stopped in my tracks and turned around.
Trust me, this was difficult to even recognize.
I first said to the enemy, “You can’t catch me! You will NEVER catch me!”
Then I say to the Lord, “I will rise on the wings of the dawn. I will run with you Lord. I do not fear what you have purposed for me.”
Do you know what He said to me?
He said, “You have never gone anywhere that I haven’t led you. You have never been outside My love. You have never gone against what I have purposed for you no matter how hard you tried. Your shame is your victory. Your pain is your healing. Your race is My delight.”
It isn’t necessarily about what you do, it is always about Who you pursue in your heart.