Approaching the finish line of my very first 5K (at 62 years of age), I immediately noticed my thoughtful applauding son-in-law. He had positioned himself in front of and to the left of the finish line. Directly across from him, a small figure had been coached to stand on the right side. Thankfully, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. It was my three-year-old grandson clapping and cheering as loud as he could muster; that image will forever be impressed upon my mind! Of course, the son-in-law did his part, and my daughter was fulfilling her duty of taking pictures, but the sight of that little guy clapping his sweet hands and cheering for us was worth every bit of the pain to get there. It reminds me of what it will be like one day when I come to the end of life’s race: FINISHING THE RACE TO THE CHEERING OF HEAVEN! All to the glory of God!

“Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11, NLT).

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses…let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

This race that is set before us can feel just like my very first 5K:

The announcer gave the official start: “on your mark, get set, go!” The crowd cheered, and my heart and mind raced! Leaving the encouragement of the spectators and dwelling on the distance of the 5K, feels as though a twenty-pound knapsack has been strapped to your back, and the battle of just putting one leaden foot in front of the other rages! “Will I be able to keep up?”  “Will I fall on my face?” “Will I finish at all?” These thoughts whirl through your mind and if allowed to go unchecked they will find lodging and inevitably stop you in your tracks!

Our heart-wrenching skirmishes amid the very mundane tasks of this life can cause us to lose our footing! “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” (Romans 8:1, 16-25).

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs…So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26a).

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

“No, dear brothers and sister, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Don’t grow weary in your race! All of heaven is cheering you on!

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not Perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

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