I am having a difficult time getting my brain to “calm down.” It is not agitated by fear or anxiety. It is flooded with so much information and “mis” information. What I would like to do is simply turn off all information sources for a few weeks. That means, turning off the television, radio, internet, phone, and every device that buzzes, rings, squawks or tweets. To truly do that is impossible. Besides, I would have to turn off my husband also since he listens to a lot of the “information” and repeats it throughout the day.
I would love to run away and hide for a little while. Run, run, run far away from all that is going on around us in this present day of trouble. The LORD, however, does not call us to run away. Instead He calls us to run our race despite all urges to the contrary.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews recounts the exploits of our faithful ancestors in Hebrews Chapter 11. It is God’s Faith Hall of Fame and includes such heroes as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and others, none of whom lived in easy, laid-back times. Right after telling us about such great men and women, the writer reminds us of our responsibilities.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” [12:1]
As believers, we are to run our race of faith just as the heroes did. I usually read that verse and focus on the sin that entangles, or the things that hinder, or the need to run with perseverance. But this morning, my focus was drawn to those four little words about the race “marked out for us.” (The NKJV translates it as the race “set before us.”)
We are called to run our race, the one God marked for this generation, this time. It is not the race that Noah or Joseph or Rahab had to run, it is the race that God calls us to run today. It is a race through fear and viruses and misinformation and opinions and shelter-at-home directives. It may be less difficult than others had, or maybe more difficult than others had, but whatever it is, it is ours to run! So run we shall. Amen.
