I’m not a runner… but today I ran a 5K. I had two goals: 1) to finish the race; and 2) to finish under 30 minutes. Well, I finished and under 28 minutes so I feel accomplished. While running I was thinking of how easy it is to just quit when you start getting tired, when you see others passing you by, and when you see an uphill trail coming up your way. On the other hand, when I had positive thoughts of how much I have trained to do the race, how good it felt when I was the one passing others by, and when I was in tune with my heartbeat going at a steady pace without feeling I was going to faint. When you run, all these feelings and thoughts go through your head and as expert runners have told me—the mind is a powerful tool that can help you win or drive you to quit and lose.

In the big picture, we all have a race to run—our lives. During our lives we will have uphill roads we will have to travel and go through. We will encounter detours we were not expecting that may delay us or discourage us. We may see others passing us by and getting ahead of us in life and we may also pass others too.

Today, I want to encourage you that no matter what you encounter in life, you must finish your race. Train and prepare yourself for the difficult times and enjoy when the race is going well and you feel you can do it. But don’t forget to take Jesus with you throughout your entire race. He will be there to encourage you, to give you living water when you’re thirsty, to tell you that you can do it when your mind is telling you otherwise, to keep you safe despite the outside circumstances, and to give you the satisfaction of finishing your race in the end. Don’t ever live home without Him!