You Were Made to Do This

The shadows are getting long as I plod along the trail with my husband and son, overwhelmed by the thick smell of honeysuckle that wafts in from the surrounding wood line. A doe and her twins stand perfectly still, in the brush, as we pass by…thump, thump, thump, thump…my feet hit the ground at a slow, steady pace. Breathe iiiiinnnnn…and ouuuuuuttttt. Innnnnn…and ouuuuuuttttt. “Ding!” a timer on my phone alerts me of every minute as we progress down the path, pushing from one small goal to the next.

Today, I decide push myself a little farther. I try to go a little harder…a little stronger, because I know I can. I was once unable to do what I’m doing now, but the glory of that accomplishment has passed. I’m now capable of more, so I should do more. It would be so easy to just keep doing the same thing, over and over, and feel like I’m still a success; but there is no longer any challenge at this level. I’m not denying my prior accomplishments, but the longer I stay here, in this place of ease, the less I’ll grow. So, today, I press on.

It may not seem like much to most people, but the increased intensity of today’s run poses quite a challenge for me. My breathing becomes labored as my lungs seem unable to gulp in enough air to fill them. I can feel blisters forming inside of my shoes, and my side feels as though I’m being shanked by an unknown assailant. Every muscle in my body has begun a revolt. My shoulders are knotting up into my neck. Everything in my physical body is telling me to stop.

Completely aware that I cannot do anything in my own strength, my heart begins to call upon the only One who can give me the added power I need to push through. Because of all the clamoring in my head, I’m unable to put two thoughts together to “pray a real prayer,” so I just keep saying the only thing I can remember, over and over:

Isaiah 40:31, “But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”

And, soon, God began to respond. He said, “Run like you were made to do it. You were, you know.”

Wow. Really? Me? I was made to do this? I don’t look the least bit like a runner – at least not from the outside. But, oh, God sees who we are on the inside. He sees us as we really are…the way He made us–successful, strong, and able to do more than we ever dreamed possible. What I look like outwardly doesn’t reflect the girl inside my heart who is beginning to emerge. This girl IS a runner. She’s signed up for a 5-K, and, she’s not just going to finish the race, but she’s going to finish strong – not because of anything she has done on her own, but because of the sheer Grace of God.

As I pondered the sweet truth of His words, I realized that I had been running like a girl who couldn’t do it. I kept looking for the next break. I was counting down to the next rest interval. I was letting my body, or a timer, tell me what I was capable of doing instead of asking my Creator if I had what it takes, and He says He gave me everything I need to be able to accomplish this goal. He put the desire in my heart to begin with; He gave me the strength to do it; He surrounded me with people who were willing to help me develop the proper habits and to encourage me along the way; and here He is…helping me get it done, right now, as He travels this narrow path alongside me, just as He does in life.

God began to reveal things to me about my posture, my body mechanics, my mindset…it was all flooding in to me as if I had always known how to do this. My head raised, my posture straightened, my hands flattened, and my arms and legs began operating in perfect unison. I shut my mind to negative thoughts. Suddenly, I could breathe again. I passed my husband and son, who had been ahead of me all night. I was leaving them behind and I began to hear their belabored breathing, silently begging ME to slow down. But I didn’t. I just kept right on going. Ding! Ding! Ding! I could hear the alarm indicating how long I had been running, but I didn’t stop when the “official” time came to stop. I just kept pressing on – not just to meet the goal, but to surpass it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before. I ran twice as long as I ever had before without stopping. It was awesome!

It’s funny…even as I write all this down, I just keep seeing one thing after the other…dozens of mini-lessons all wrapped up in this one experience. I could expand on this for days, but I guess I’ll just pick out a couple of things for now! 🙂 And the main thing is…we must keep running our race. From glory to glory, as we develop in our relationship with Him and we begin to press into the deeper things that He has called us to do, it can get a little scary. God calls us to some truly amazing, awesome, unimaginable things. Sometimes, we doubt that we even have what it takes to do that which He has created us for. We fail to see ourselves in the fullness of our potential the way He does. We cannot succeed in our own strength, but the cool thing about that is…we were never meant to! He WANTS us to ask Him for His help. Chances are, He’s waiting for us to invite Him to be involved in our challenges right now – from the smallest of issues to the most overwhelming situations, and He has gone ahead of us and prepared our path. We have nothing to fear but our own doubt that His goodness and His power will supersede anything that stands in our way. While the odds against us may feel insurmountable, there is nothing as big as God. He will give us everything we need to be able to do all that He has called us to do because we were “made to do this.” (Whatever “this” means to you.) Then, after He gives us what we need to push through to the next level, He’ll stay right there with us, from one level to the next, until our race is complete.