Recently my husband and I were talking about our careers in track and field...short lived as they might have been. We had some great experiences at the primary level and even some experiences representing our communities.

Track and field has taught us a lot.

One of the most important things it has taught us however is that we should always finish the race.

Case in point, my husband went to trials for his high school track team. He thought he still had it in him to run and outpace all the other athletes, but this was a bigger stage than he was used to. When he saw all the guys running past him he pulled up and held his hamstring because he didn't want to be in last place. The older boys, seeing what took place, asked him why he didn't keep running. They told him that he should have kept running because he didn't know what the coach was looking for and he could have still made it on the team had he just kept running.

So it can be in our walk with God. Sometimes we expect to be so much further ahead than we actually are and the pace at which we seem to be running can be disheartening at times, however it's best to keep going.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the brethren encouraging them to run the race with patience, anticipating the reward that is ahead (Heb 12:1-2). It is imperative that each of us focus on our own race and not worry about how far ahead others may seem.

The strange thing is that in our walk with Christ everyone is running his race...on the same track. There is no colliding, there are no obstructions or chaos, but somehow all these races are being run at the same time.

There are those in an obstacle race. Every time they run a few places they meet upon a hurdle that they have to get over. Some are so shocked by the hurdle that they run through it and injure themselves, others time the hurdle perfectly and make it over.

So it is that condemnation can have us want to quit the race, “how could we not see this hurdle coming? Why would I not jump a little higher?” We cannot, however, let condemnation prevent us from finishing our race...we have to keep running.

We cannot be certain of the type of race that we are in, we just have to stay on the track and pray for the endurance, the strength and the fortitude it takes to finish the race.

Some of the races are so long that along the way there are persons handing you a drink to give you just enough refresher to keep your body functioning. Be strategic and get some refreshments sometimes when it is being offered.

The Psalmist David notes that the Lord leads beside the still waters, he restores the soul. (Psalm 23)

In those races sometimes all your body is thinking about is the next opportunity zone, where is the next area that they will be giving away drink? Don't however lose focus thinking about the rehydration, just keep running.

In these races patience is key. The ability to be disciplined and keep a steady pace so that your body won't give out and prevent you from being able to finish the race.

In athletics you have to be disciplined to reap real rewards.

Some may see the sprints as the easiest, considering that not shortly after you have started the race is it finished. This however is not as easy as it may appear. The form, technique and the speed that is necessary as well as the commitment to training.

In this type of race it is very easy also to false start. Meaning that adrenaline is so high at the start of the race that you just want to get going, persons go out of their blocks before the gun has gone, losing their very chance at even starting the race. This race too is run with patience.

Whatever the type of race we have to run, it will unfold by and by. While on our journey as children of God we have to keep in touch with the Lord. We have to know that he is always there, cheering us on...on the track with us, wanting us to do our best.

My husband says he once ran with some guys that were really fast, two guys passed him and he was so determined that no one else should get past him. When the race was finished he ran around jumping with excitement that he came third.

A last place finish for some may be their best recorded time.

We have seen those clips where the athlete just couldn't physically do much, but mentally they were not willing to give up and sometimes they just barely made it through the line, others sometimes got help from other athletes to get them through the line...we have to make up our mind that we will finish the race that is set before us.

Let us always endeavor to finish the race set before us. 

There were highs and there were lows. There were marriages, births, deaths and job losses. This year was to be a year like every other, maybe even more promising. A year of perfect vision.

It turned out to be anything but that.

While some may have had a foreshadowing, no one could have anticipated the magnitude of the pandemic that hit. For the first time in a very long time the world stood still.

While the world looked on in abject horror, the command was given by the Lord to the church in March that we were to curse the disease, rebuke the very nature of that which wanted to attack.

As with the children of Israel with the last plague, they were instructed to daub blood on the lintel and door frames so that when the death angel passed over, that blood would be a sign to him to not trouble that dwelling. (Exodus 12) Let us continue to stay under the protection of Jesus Christ and the blood that was shed on Calvary for our salvation. Let us hide in the Rock, in the secret place of the Most High and let us not fear, "for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever." (Exodus 14:13)

Jesus instructed his disciples that when they saw these signs (Luke 21) they should LOOK UP. Not that the world would end immediately but that the coming of the Lord is at hand, and preparation needs to be made while it is day. The children of Issachar were called wise as they had an understanding of the times, we too, as Children of God ought to be alert to understand the times that we are living, how close we are to the time of the end.

As we step out of 2020, we look back at the chaos, the panic, the utter turmoil that took place in the world and we find peace in our place of safety (Christ). We continue to encourage those that have not yet turned their lives over to the Lord to do so before it is too late. We don't know what will happen in 2021 but we continue to hope and trust in Jesus.

Please, let us reach out to those that have fallen by the wayside and encourage those that have not yet known Christ to come taste and see. Let us trim our lamps and prepare for the times ahead, let us not miss this opportunity to get ourselves ready before the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9).