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"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
(1 Corinthians 15:57-58, CSB)
Today, the Forshee family (Bryant, Kyndall, Tabor, and even Nix, our dog) will be traveling back to our home in Northwest Arkansas from an extended Christmas and New Year's break! It has been a long break, culminating with a trip to Disney World to participate in the Dopey Race. What is a Dopey Race, you ask? Well, it is a four day event that accumulates 48.6 miles: you run a 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, a Half-Marathon on Saturday, and finally, a Full-Marathon on Sunday. This was my second Dopey (my first was last year with my Dad–shoutout Pops!), and it was absolutely AMAZING! This year, I was able to do the Dopey with two of my good friends: Jameson Barker and Matt Harrington. (Matt did the Dopey with me and Dad last year too.) We ran through the parks, we laughed, we talked, we "oohed" and "ahhed" at the different sights of the day. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
While it was absolutely AMAZING, it was also ABSOLUTELY GRUELING! Each morning started at 3:15 a.m. at the latest. We had to drive to the parking lot, get out of the car, and walk to the starting line. Sometimes this walk was around half a mile; the other times it was around a mile. We got to the starting line each morning and ran our hearts out. We ran 48.6 miles total, and that total was felt MASSIVELY by Sunday.
So why is the Dopey challenge more "ABSOLUTELY AMAZING" than "ABSOLUTELY GRUELING"? Well, for one, we got some amazing prizes for completing the races. I was also able to do it with some amazing friends and even got to see my dad on the Marathon course. The Dopey is more AMAZING than GRUELING because I am left with more fond memories than I am of the grueling ones.
So why kick off this week of devos with all this talk of 48.6 miles?
If you haven't read the verse at the top, go ahead and read it now. If you already read it once, then you can re-read it now. With 2024 only 8 days old, I think it is a great reminder from 1 Corinthians 15! No matter what age you are turning this year, we can all learn from the reminder to "be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain." What we do for the Lord matters! So it does not matter if you are a teenager, middle age, old age, or anything in between: the work that we do for the Lord matters, and we CANNOT GIVE UP! We need to cling to the truth that we have "victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" We need to remember that because Jesus is alive, we have a mission and a story to tell the world! We need to remember that God has positioned and placed us in a workplace, a school, a church, etc. for a purpose: to be doing the Lord's work! We can know because of the authoritative word of God that our work is not in vain.
I have always heard that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. In marathons, there are tough moments, there are moments where you begin to doubt that you can make it, and there are moments of intense physical pain. Those are the exact same scenarios we face in life. We go through tough moments, doubts, and painful moments, but what do we do? We are steadfast, immovable, and we do the Lord's work. I don't know what your 2023 looked like, but what I do know is that if you are reading this devo, God has plans for you in 2024, and 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 is a great reminder for the year of 2024!
So remember, this Christian walk is a marathon, not a sprint, so don't give up, and remember 1 Corinthians 15:57-58. If I could be so bold, let me say it another way: the Christian life can feel like a good ol' 48.6-mile Dopey Challenge, so cling to 1 Corinthians 15:57-58!
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