“Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” –Isaiah 41:10

Running any race is a challenging undertaking. When our daughter, Ella Kate signed up for cross country her first year in middle school I was worried she may have committed to something beyond her 12-year-old capabilities.

Her first day of practice was great. When Ella Kate came home she was excited about running and she was tired. The next morning was a different story. When it came time for her to get out of bed she had a hard time. Her muscles were sore and the excitement of being part of the cross-country team was being quickly overshadowed by the pain she was experiencing.

Aimee and I offered her encouragement and told her it would get better in the next few days. She begrudgingly put her shoes in her bag and prepare for practice that day. The next few mornings were the same. Preparing to run in her first race was painful.

Finally, her first meet arrived and our family was there to watch as she competed. We were so excited for her and nervous for her, as well. The runners lined up and the gun was fired. She took off running and did great! When the race was over she came to find us. The smile on her face said it all. The hard work, the pain, the long practices were worth it. She had completed her first race and was excited about her accomplishment.

So many of our dreams in life are like a race. We can imagine ourselves running across the finish line and celebrating a victory, but we often don’t daydream about the hard work and sacrifice that comes with running a good race. For us to see our dreams come to life, we must understand that there will be obstacles in our path, hurdles to overcome. The good news is we never run our race alone. God is with us. In those moments when the pain of the journey overcomes the joy of the race, God is there to strengthen us for the challenges in front us as we move to the finish line.

Rev. Keith King, Online Campus Pastor