Learning to Race

Learning to Race

By Marsha Iddings

1 Corinthians 9:24 ¶ Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

This past week I learned a little about how to "race". We had a long car trip and for the first time, I drove most of the way to and from our destination. It was approximately an eight hour trip. Driving long distance is not my favorite thing to do. It usually terrifies me. But God gave me strength and peace about the drive and I was able to do it and actually enjoy it. Of course, it's easier to enjoy when you are behind the wheel of an Impala SS with a Corvette engine under the hood and the car handles like a dream. The Rocket was gifted to us by my father-in-law in his will.

When driving through freeway traffic where there is a cement divider on my left and a semi-truck on my right, I tend to panic. If I look at the truck beside me, I begin to steer toward the cement divider on my left. Then I see I am getting too close to that and I over-steer to the right toward the truck. It's a scary proposition. On this trip, I learned something. When I am in this kind of situation, I learned that if I stare straight ahead toward what is in front of me and don't look to my left or to my right, I can easily pass the truck without a panic. (I also learned I can zip it up from 60 to 80 in a matter of seconds and that helps too.)

The Apostle Paul says we are to run that we may obtain the prize. He goes on to say "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly..." (1 Corinthians 9:26). I was "racing" with uncertainty when I was allowing the truck on one side and the cement divider on the other to terrify me. But when I began "racing" with my eye on the destination ahead, I was no longer terrified by my circumstances.

Are you looking around at your circumstances, and allowing them to put panic into you? There are so many ways this could be applied. The Jones' homeschool is so much more perfect than what I am doing. The next door neighbor keeps such a perfect house. I can never measure up to that. Joe Blow has the perfect job and family. Why can't I do that well? And it could go on. Does it feel like things are closing in on you? Don't look at your circumstances. Look up and look ahead toward your destination. Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. (Philippians 3:14)

Dear Father, Thank You for safety on the roads and for the lessons You taught me about trust in You, and focusing on the goal, not my circumstances. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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