Run the Good Race
(3 Minute Read)
By Heidi Schartner
On your mark. Get set. Go!
This is the phrase said before every race, whether it’s on the playground or on the Olympic track. (Fun fact, when I say it at home, my dog and I race up the stairs. She always wins but she also cheats.)
The term ‘on your mark’ signals racers to get to their starting point. The next, ‘get set’, is your cue that the race is about to start. And the last ‘go’ is your permission to start the race.
Each part of this simple phrase is important to the race. You have to start at the right spot. You have to prepare. You can only move when you’re told to. My friend, this phrase holds as much weight in our Christian walk as it does for any race. We can spin around in circles and waste precious time. If our starting point isn’t where God wants us, we go in all sorts of directions. All except for the path God wants us on.
If we go on our timing, and not God’s, we are in essence saying to God ‘I know better’. It’s not intentional. I know from personal experience, patience isn’t my strong suit. I also know, that listening to God and waiting for Him only strengthens our faith in Him.
But that word ‘go’. Oh what a joy it is when we are fighting the good fight. What a joy it is when we are doing God’s work. What a joy it is when we are able to the be the hands and feet and share God’s love with families.
Are you ready to continue this race? Feeling down and tired? I know. It’s been (and continues to be) a long, hard, haul. In God, we get all we need and I truly believe each of us knows that. I also know that while the purpose of the race remains the same, the racetrack has changed over the last few years. It has changed dramatically.
Awesome KidMin Conference 2022 is a few short weeks away. Please come. Come to be encouraged. Come to be more equipped. Come to be empowered. Each of us is dealing with all sorts of challenges. But we are all believers - brothers and sisters in Christ - who long for the same things:
Sharing God’s love to the littles of our congregations.
Helping families bring God alive in their households.
Nurturing the next generation of leaders to continue the fight.
On your mark. Get set. Go!