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"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
(Hebrews 12:1)
Today, I will begin a four-day race in Disney World called the Dopey Race, named after one of the Seven Dwarfs... and, well, you have to be a bit dopey to run for four days straight. Today, we will run a 5K, tomorrow, a 10K, the next day, a 13.1-mile half-marathon, and then the fourth day, a 26.2-mile marathon. I have been training for many weeks. I am staying with my good friends, Rob and Darlene Daniel, and Rob is running the race as well. (He is extra dopey because he has run this race multiple times!)
Yes, I can read your minds... at least some of you reading this right now. You are thinking, "Poor Danny, he is loony; why would anyone in their right mind ever do such a thing?" Or some of you may be thinking, "The only way I would ever run like that is if someone were chasing me!" I get it, and I am as surprised as some of you that I am attempting this. But truth be told, I actually enjoy it. No, I don't enjoy the aches and pains associated with the running, but I do enjoy being outside and accomplishing a huge goal. I have not accomplished it yet, though; this is only Day 1. Pray for me please!
Our biblical text for today's devotion teaches us to "run with endurance" a much more important race than a physical one. In the Christian life, we are called to run for the glory of God and the furtherance of His kingdom. How do we do that and not fizzle out? Part of the answer is laying aside things that weigh us down. Anything that prevents you and me from running hard for God and serving Him well is sin, and we should discard it. No one would attempt to run their personal best time (or PR, for you runners) with 20 extra pounds of clothing or weights attached to their ankles. That would be insane.
Your race is not my race. You have temptations I do not have and vice versa. But we do have a common enemy: the devil, who wants to trip us up any way he can. God has a great race for you to run for His glory, and with the Holy Spirit in you and the people of God assisting you and cheering you on, you can do it!
More about running the race in tomorrow's devotion, but for today, please pray for me, and I will pray for you. Be faithful. Be strong. Finish well!
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