The day after my granddaughter Lola celebrated her 5th birthday, she ran in a 5K race with her father. She had been training for months, she told me, but I was more than a little doubtful that she would actually be able to run the entire race and fully expected to see her just a few minutes after the race began lofted high on her dad’s shoulders. But I was wrong.
Fifty-eight minutes after she took off with her father, those of us who were non-runners stood at the finish line waiting.
Suddenly I heard someone yell “Hey, is that the little girl who started this race?” It was! It was Lola! Although she was still quite a distance away, we could see her pig tails flopping up and down as she and her dad slowly jogged toward us.
We all began yelling “Lola, come on, you can do it!” and watched in amazement as this tiny little 5 year old somehow managed to streak the last several yards with her father at her side and run across the finish line with a huge smile.
Later Doug, her dad, told us “Lola was just about to give up because she was exhausted when she heard all of you calling. She turned to me and said “Daddy, I think they are yelling my name! They are yelling ‘Lola!’” And with that encouragement she continued on to not only finish but to receive a medal as the youngest person to ever complete the 5K race.
Finish the race. That’s what we all strive for, every minute of every day. Some days you may be the runner and other days the encourager. No matter where you are in this race called life, never give up! Just as Lola gained her second wind and was able to continue on to the finish line because of people encouraging her, so it is with us as we lift up each other and share the gospel with everyone around us.
So come on, everybody! Just a little further! You’re almost there! You can do it!
Father, forgive me when I get discouraged and am tempted to quit running the race for you. Help me to keep my faith strong as I focus on the finish. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
We all began yelling “Lola, come on, you can do it!” and watched in amazement as this tiny little 5 year old somehow managed to streak the last several yards with her father at her side and run across the finish line with a huge smile.
Later Doug, her dad, told us “Lola was just about to give up because she was exhausted when she heard all of you calling. She turned to me and said “Daddy, I think they are yelling my name! They are yelling ‘Lola!’” And with that encouragement she continued on to not only finish but to receive a medal as the youngest person to ever complete the 5K race.
Finish the race. That’s what we all strive for, every minute of every day. Some days you may be the runner and other days the encourager. No matter where you are in this race called life, never give up! Just as Lola gained her second wind and was able to continue on to the finish line because of people encouraging her, so it is with us as we lift up each other and share the gospel with everyone around us.
So come on, everybody! Just a little further! You’re almost there! You can do it!
Father, forgive me when I get discouraged and am tempted to quit running the race for you. Help me to keep my faith strong as I focus on the finish. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
Are there days when you feel that running the race of life for the Lord is simply more than you can handle?
Do you have someone that you can talk to who will be your encourager to help you finish strong?
Apply
Journal one week in your “race of life” and write down roadblocks that you encountered along the way.
Share those roadblocks with a prayer warrior friend and ask her to hold you accountable on that race and to be your encourager as you share the gospel with people you meet.
Power
Acts 20:24 (NIV) “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV) “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Romans 12:1 (NIV) “Therefore, since we re surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)
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