Fresh Air for Exhausted

I guess right about now, you have enough training behind you to have had at least one bad run, at least one rough long walk, at least one day when you truly could not remember why the heck you signed up for this. I’m going out on a limb and guessing that you’re ready to be at May 7th, the day after the race, recovering and returning to life minus the rigid training you’ve been subjected to for the last 16 or so weeks. Well, this one’s for you, my friend . . .

There’s a breath of fresh air waiting for you in I Kings 19, so let’s start there today. I know, you don’t have a lot of extra time today, or energy, for that matter, but please read it anyway. C’mon, it won’t take long. Just click here, and a new window will open up for you, and you can read it and then close that window, and you’ll be right back here. I’ll wait for you.

Elijah was exhausted, too. Spent from running for his life because of the work he was doing for God. The work that God Himself had called him to. (Sound familiar?) Not only was he exhausted, he was depressed and begging God to let him die.  He had had enough.  So he found a cave to hole up in, handed it all back to God, and fell asleep in hopes of never again waking up.

When God sent an angel to wake him up and show him the fresh baked bread and the big old jug of water, I don’t know about you, but I see a sweet picture of God’s personal understanding and provision. I mean, make no mistake, God got it. He saw His man’s state of utter exhaustion and He provided exactly what he needed: food, water, and more sleep.

And after he ate, Elijah fell back asleep.  When the angel woke him up the second time, God showed an even sweeter understanding.

Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you (v 7).

And that’s when Elijah found the strength to keep going.  That’s when he found the energy and motivation to run from Jezebel.  And with that strength, you know where Elijah ran to?

He ran to the Mountain of God. He ran to the mountain he knew to be the one upon which God had given the Ten Commandments to Moses. Elijah ran to the very place where he knew that God had passed by and touched Moses  with His own hand. (See Exodus 33.)

When Elijah was spent, he ran to the Mountain of God.

And when he got to that mountain, God met him there.  Not angry at his running.  Not upset with him for wanting to give it all up.  God, in all of His power, met destitute Elijah where he stood on that mountain.  And Elijah by faith went on.

You can finish this training. By the very strength of God Himself. By the faith that God gave you to start in the first place. The key: run to the mountain of God. Pursue that relationship with Almighty God, even in the spent of your today. Especially in the spent of your today. Okay, maybe you’ll need to crawl since you’re recovering from that big, long run. That’s all right. Because God knows exactly where you are.  He sees your exhaustion.  And He wants to renew you.  Just look to Him, the only real source of the only real strength.

Because You Are a Mighty Warrior

Gideon should have been celebrating the new wheat harvest, but instead we find him hiding his wheat and threshing it where the Midianites were least likely to find him and the crops. We don’t know how he made it to this point, but somehow Gideon managed to keep his wheat crop alive and away from the Midianites’ ruin  up to now. The ruin that had been inevitable for about seven straight years. So when the time came for him to thresh what he had kept hidden from the enemy, Gideon took every possible precaution. That’s why he lay low in a winepress with a bunch of wheat rather than celebrating the harvest on the threshing floor. He was hiding out in a pit cracking wheat berries out of stalks for fear that he might be caught by the enemy.

photo of a winepress courtesy of byui.edu

Picture him there in the winepress, fearful and anxious, when all of the sudden he hears

The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.

Gulp.  Shots of adrenaline pulse through his veins, not just at the sight of the angel of the Lord but at the words themselves.

If we take a step back and look into that winepress, we see a scared little boy hiding from a big bully.  A helpless victim run off by the big bad wolf called Midian.  But God saw something much different.  He saw a mighty warrior.  And He didn’t just see it.  He spoke it.

Mighty warrior.

But Gideon hones in on the other words spoken and asks ”um, excuse me, sir, but . . .

if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?  (He) . . . put us (here).

I wonder if he wanted to add “and what’s this ‘Mighty warrior’ talk?!?  Surely, you aren’t talking about me.”

Then God says something utterly amazing to this scared little boy all curled up in a winepress.

Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.  Am I not sending you?

Instead of defending His unending love for His people and inundating Gideon with His absolutely justified reasons for allowing this oppression, God in His infinite wisdom and grace bestows on Gideon the truth that He sees.  The truth which, for us, can only be seen through eyes of faith.

I am with you, Gideon.

Therefore, you are a mighty warrior, full of strength.

And God’s spoken word moves Gideon from helpless victim hiding out in a pit to valiant soldier tearing down false gods (vv 25-29) and conquering enemies in the Name of God Almighty (Judges 7).  Because Gideon trusted what God said.

Believe it or not, the same goes for you today. You might not feel like a mighty warrior. In fact, maybe you missed your long run this past weekend, and you are wondering why you even signed up to do this whole Team Hope thing in the first place. Or maybe you’re still recovering from your long run of a few days ago, and the last thing you feel is mighty. Let me assure you, God calls you a mighty warrior, too, if you’re trusting Him.

Because He is mighty to save those children in Southeast Asia who cannot rescue themselves. Because, I believe, He has called you to be His feet, His hands, His voice and to liberate children in dire danger of exploitation and slavery. Because in His eyes, every single step of training, every single word spoken on behalf of those children is a mighty act of bravery in the name of Jesus Christ.

So, as you finish up these last few weeks, choose to trust what He sees, mighty warrior. Do not give in to the fear of failure of the agony of the one more mile dread. Keep at it, mighty warrior. For God is with you. And He has called you to mighty things!

See . . .

The story of Joshua leading the Israelites into the land God promised they could have holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it’s the underdog thing.  I mean statistically speaking, the Israelites should have been decimated at the first blow. Or maybe it’s the way God makes Himself so apparent throughout the conquests. If we study the book and find the truths laid out in it, we realize that God and God alone fought every single battle those Israelites participated in. It was by His hand of grace and mercy that His people claimed the Promised Land. And still, they had a part: follow Him to the promise.

The first battle took place in Jericho. We find it in Joshua 6. Joshua and the Israelites have just crossed the mighty Jordan River, at flood stage.  And here they camp, poised and ready to conquer the Land of Promise in the name of Almighty God.  The God Who had led them right here.

The Bible doesn’t say much about how long they had been in this particular camping spot, but we do know that the last time we saw Joshua, he was facedown in the presence of Holy God (Joshua 5:13-16).  The perfect place to begin a conquest.  The perfect place to begin a race, too.  And throughout the book of Joshua, we learn that Joshua held this stance through every battle.  Poised at the feet of God Almighty.  Joshua knew that there was no way to conquer the land of Canaan but by God’s hand.  His plan.  His way. Perhaps the same could be said of our hearts as we train and race on behalf of the children in Southeast Asia who don’t have the means to fight the battle that’s been waged on them. The only way to see them free from the slavery and the bondage they are in is by the very hand of God Himself.

It is here that we find God passing on His objective to Joshua for the first battle.  How to take Jericho.  If you look closely at His orders, you’ll probably notice the very fist command He gave Joshua:

See . . . (Joshua 6:2)

God called Joshua to nothing less than pure and unadulterated faith.

Before a toe touched ground on that just-outside-Jericho dirt, Joshua had to see what God considered already done.

See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands . . . (Joshua 6:2)

By God’s standards, the battle was over.  Jericho had already fallen.  Now it was time to put feet to their faith.  Joshua had to use faith-eyes in order to lead the Israelites to the sure victory that was theirs to claim.  He had to see what God said and believe it for truth.  It was a faith walk like none other. One that marched them around Jericho and straight to victory. And the amazing battle of Jericho was complete with the strike of God’s Word before the Israelites even had a chance to attack.

The same holds true for us today.  Jesus came to “proclaim freedom for . . . captives” (Is. 61:1) such as those kids in Cambodia and Thailand. And we get to be His feet that walk the race and see Him work in their lives.  Like Joshua, we are called to see the truth of His promise by faith and to live accordingly.  Undiscouraged by a bad run. Undistracted by the the puddles that soak our shoes through to the toes. Knowing that, by Him, the battle is already won. The race is already finished.

And all we have to do is put the feet of our bodies on the promise of God and watch Him do what He’s already promised.

Back to the Beginning

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Maybe you’ve noticed that this training is getting more cumbersome. Right about now, you’re probably having to configure your normal daily routine in order to fit in those long runs. (And by long runs, I don’t just mean the longest runs of the week. I mean, even the shorter runs have become rather long!) You’re probably finding a voracious hunger at times that you cannot figure out how to satisfy. Or maybe getting out of bed in the mornings is more difficult than it usually is, because your body is figuring out how to compensate for all the taxing of the training.

So — how about we go back to the beginning today? You know, the very beginning when you decided to join Team Hope. The day you realized you wanted to do something about the injustice that children in Southeast Asia are subjected to on a regular basis. What was it that inspired you to join up? Why are you here, in the middle of this training? What inspired you to run or walk that first mile last month when you began your training regimen?

Was it the beautiful, dark-skinned, dark-eyed smiley faces and their toothy grins?

Was it a friend’s ambition? Maybe you’ve always wanted to run in an official race, and this seemed like the perfect reason to finally do it. What’s your story?

Let’s inspire each other today by remembering the beginning. By remembering the goal, keeping it in front of us.

Go ahead, tell us your story in the comments. Don’t be shy. If you’re reading this in an email, just click here, and you’ll be right at the blog and ready to comment.

The Call to Sacrifice

Read Genesis 22:1-19

God had pulled through on every single promise He’d given.  Every last detail fulfilled, He had blessed Abraham beyond imagining.  Blessing after blessing, God had not only provided sufficiently, but with great and utter abundance.

So when God asked Abraham to sacrifice the one fulfillment of the one promise that meant the most to him, it’s hard to imagine the pit that must have planted itself in the bottom of Abraham’s belly.

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (22:2)

I’m quite sure none of us has been asked by God to sacrifice a child for this thing we call Team Hope, this mission of rescuing children from horrendously risky circumstances and helping them find true hope in Jesus Christ. However, He has called us to sacrifices of a different kind. God has asked us to give up things like sleeping in on Saturday mornings or time normally spent with our families so that we can train. Some have given up eating out in order to buy the all-important new running shoes or pay for registration and hotel room costs the weekend of the race. We’ve all given up a certain degree of comfort asking other people to support us and help rescue those kids. Sure, it’s no “Give-Your-Only-Son-as-an-Offering-to-God” kind of sacrifice, but it’s a sacrifice just the same. Offered to God with the faith that He will make His promise come true.

And really, isn’t that the exact sacrifice which Abraham offered God when he got up early the next day to obey God’s command? Wasn’t his an offering of complete faith, trusting that God would surely fulfill the promise He’d given 25 years earlier, the promise to make Him the patriarch of an entire nation? (See Genesis 15:4.)

God’s promise for us really has nothing to do with our future ancestors. It does, however, hold the same clout and certainty. The promise for which we run comes from Isaiah 58, verses six through seven.

*(God will use our sacrifice) to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke . . .

We run, we sacrifice those Saturday morning sleep-ins, because we believe that God will make good on His promise. The end.

As I ponder this story of the amazing faith of Abraham and His unwavering obedience, I have to wonder about his son, Isaac. When the angel stopped the slaying and God gave His approval, did Isaac see the faith of his father and worship God because of it?  When he saw the ram in the thicket, did Isaac’s faith grow as he climbed off that altar, convinced that The LORD, indeed will always provide? And these ponderings make me excited, quite frankly. Because I have two kiddos whose faith I hope grows as a result of this calling, this promise from God to rescue children in danger. Because I’ve asked people to give money whose faith is unfounded, who could use a little watch-and-see-God-fullfill-His-promise.

And so as we train, as we obey God’s call to sacrifice, may we keep in mind His promise. For that is what we train for.

What Noah’s Ark Has To Do With The Flying Pig

Read Genesis 6:9-8:19

Noah “walked with God” just as his great-grandfather, Enoch, did.  But his walk didn’t go straight to heaven without passing go.  Instead, God walked him through throngs of unrighteous people and straight to the construction site where he would build a boat.  A boat big enough to house each member of his grown family as well as a pair of every kind of animal on earth and some extras for a sacrifice when all was said and done.  Hard to imagine.  But Noah trusted what he did not see.

His eyes had never seen rain. His nose had never smelled the musty, wormy smell of the after-it-just-rained.  Until that first raindrop which God used to begin the great flood, Creation had never experienced rain.  And still,

Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark . . .  Hebrews 11:7

It’s a story which many of us learned as young children.  But a truth that many of us have yet to fully grasp.  The truth of taking God at His Word and acting on that alone.  For, in the same way that God commanded the universe into existence, so He commanded Noah into action.  And God uses that same voice, coupled with that same kind of faith, the faith that He gives His followers through Jesus Christ, to continue His work. He uses words like thoseHe spoke through His prophet Isaiah in chapter 58 of that book.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (Is. 58:6)

So when we run and train and walk and raise money to free orphans who would otherwise be sold into slavery, orphans whom He loves with His whole all-that-He-is, God Himself works through us.

Without a doubt, that boat Noah built rocked back and forth as the waters rose. But Noah’s faith stood firm on God’s unshakable Word.  And so can ours. As we trust that God is using every step of our training, every word we write or speak on behalf of those children, His Word remains unshakeable. His promise endures. His hand moves.

And our small steps of faith somehow play a part in Almighty God’s plan to rescue the fatherless and the hopeless and the destitute.

Thank You, God, for a chance to be part of what You are doing. Amen.

Every Step With God Himself

I walked my first race. The Nationwide half-marathon, in Columbus. Thirteen point one miles was quite a stretch for someone like me who had really never done any kind of real physical fitness regimen in the thirty-some years I’d lived before that race. I did it because God had asked me to help orphans, and this was one way I could do it.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

I did it because I wanted to please my Father. I walked that half-marathon, and the next one in Cleveland, too, because I wanted to be about the things that God himself was about. And this was a sure way to walk with Him. To walk for Him.

As it turns out, there are all kinds of ways to live out one’s walk with God. To live out the faith that God says pleases Him.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who come to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

But, for me, and now for you, Team Hope is one way to literally step out in faith, trusting God Almighty to use our measly little steps, be they walking or running or some form in between, to loose the chains of injustice that we know kids in Southeast Asia are bound by. (See Isaiah 58.) Team Hope is our way to walk with God, and to please Him with our walk.

When it comes to walking with God, a man named Enoch comes to mind. We know little about him.  Of all the verses in the entire Bible, we have a total of seven from which to gather any information about this man.  And yet here he sits among patriarchs such as Abraham, Moses and Jacob in Hebrews 11. You might know it as The Hall of Faith.  And we find him counted among those men and women whose lives help us know real faith and walk in it.

Here is what we know about Enoch.  We know he became a father at the young age of 65 when his first son, Methuselah, was born.  We know he was around for another 300 years after that.  Jude 14-15 tell us that he prophesied against ungodly men about God’s undeniable justice.  But the Word of God uses four words alone to sum up this man’s life.  “He walked with God.”  And then, at 365 years of age, “he was no more, because God took him away.” He spoke of God’s justice, and he walked with God.

And here we are, speaking of God’s justice by walking/running with God, for God. For those children in Southeast Asia whom God loves so much and wants to rescue from the chains of injustice.

We find a few more words to help summarize Enoch’s life here on earth.  “He was commended as one who pleased God.”  And we see that this walking he did, this walking with God, he did it in such a way that his life was known for that.  One truth summed up Enoch’s life.  He walked with God.  The end. We need know little else about this man’s life. He trusted God to lead his every step.  He walked wherever God did. And God was pleased.

And here we are at the brink of following God for every single step of our training and our race, be it a 5k, a 10k, a half- or a full marathon. Trusting God to lead us into and out of every. single. step.

What would it be like to be known for just that: for walking with God? Imagine your own memorial service.  The pastor stands up for the eulogy and simply states: “He walked with God” or “She walked with God.”  Then he closes his books and sits down.  The end.

Oh, that we might train and race in such a way as to trust God, with every step, to loose those children’s chains. Oh that we might live in such a way as to please God so much that He might be pleased with every step we take.

What Are We Training For?

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1

I love to plan out a run. Finding new ways to get a couple miles in is kind of fun. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s the most fun part of my workout. (Just keepin’ it real.) Furthermore, I love looking over a new training plan and seeing, on paper, how many miles I’ll be up to in eight weeks. That’s part of the fun for me — knowing where I’m going and picturing how I’m going to get there.

I was thinking about training plans in light of the purpose for which God has called us to do this whole Team Hope thing. What exactly is He training us for? I mean, sure He wants us to get healthy and to do our best, faithfully enduring the physical and mental rigor that preparing for a race requires. Certainly, God has called us to help those children who would otherwise be homeless and possible sold into slavery or worse. But is there more to it? I mean, could this training for Cincinnati be part of something bigger that God wants for us? Exactly what is it that we are training for?

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is full of stories of people throughout the Bible who went through stringent training plans for races of their own. Some fought in wars. Some went through extremely harsh living conditions. Some had to go through endurance training by waiting exorbitant amounts of time to see God do what He had promised to do. Each of the people mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 underwent a different training plan designed by God Himself. But they all trained for the same thing — the finish line of God’s promise fulfilled. I call it faith-training.

This kind of training required a different kind of focus than the kind that uses physical eyeballs. It required faith focus. Each one of the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 needed eyes of faith in order to endure their training and make it to the finish.

I would like to suggest that God is calling each of us to the same kind of faith training that He required of those people from Hebrews 11. I believe He has asked each one of us to believe His promise that He will use our sacrifice to “loose the chains of injustice . . . to set the oppressed free . . . “ (See Isaiah 58:6.) We might never see the finish He promised. But, with faith eyes, we can know that He will do what He promised to do. And that is why we train. Physically, yes. But faithfully, we train our bodies as well as our souls to see God’s finish even when it seems impossible.

That’s why we’re going to spend the next eight Mondays highlighting some of the people from this chapter in the book of Hebrews. So we can learn how these people trained. So we can be encouraged in our own training. So we can faithfully run, by faith.

Are you ready?  Let’s get going . . .

Fixed Focus for the Finish

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.   Hebrews 12:2-3

I could see the corner and hear the crowd, so I picked up the pace thinking the end was near. A girl I knew passed by on the sidewalk, medal in hand, as she headed to her car after the race. I couldn’t see the finish line, but I knew it was getting close. I knew my husband and kids would be waiting for me. I could picture the snacks and the bottles of water the volunteers would hand me after I’d crossed the finish line. I could almost feel the satisfaction of having finished my first running race. So I gave it my all and left everything I had on that final half-mile or so of the course, even though I was exhausted as all get out. There was a certain joy set before me, so I fixed my focus on the finish and endured the pain of the final few steps.

But there was much more to my race than the joy of the finish. It was the smiles of those kids whose pictures had been seared in my mind. It was their rescue. The knowledge that each step I took in the race that day helped even one of them to know hope and freedom from slavery and dark evils they’d no doubt seen if not experienced themselves. The joy set before me really had little to do with all the excitement and satisfaction of running my first 10k and everything to do with the pure joy of knowing I was helping to liberate children from stuff they shouldn’t even know about, much less have to run from. I endured for them. For the God Who asked me to do it.

Jesus endured much more than a 10k. (I wanna’ write “Duh!” here because well, really…) I mean, God in the flesh walked up a hill after being beaten to a pulp and humiliated like none other, carrying a solid wooden cross beam and literally the weight of the darkness of every one of my sins and yours. He underwent the most unbearable pain any man has ever suffered, and He did it to finish His race. The race He came to run. The one where He finished off death and conquered it with real life. The one where He invaded life as we knew it and overthrew Satan’s empire of darkness and dying and not real living. He ran His race, endured every inch of it, because my freedom and yours gave Him joy.

. . . who for the joy set before him endured the cross . . .

So the writer of Hebrews draws on the race Jesus ran and points us to it. He tells us to fix our eyes on Him

so that (we) will not grow weary and lost heart. (Heb. 12:3b)

See, Jesus Christ Himself knew endurance. Therefore we can learn it too. He knew pain, so we can endure it also. If only we will keep in mind what He has done for us. What He wants to do for those kids. If only we will fix our eyes on Jesus and not lose sight of the hope He holds for the children who are even right now struggling to just stay alive maybe fighting off slave drivers or pimps. If only we will keep fixed focus, we will find strength for those early morning training sessions. If only we will keep Jesus ever before us, we will find courage for the fund-raising.

After I turned the corner at the race that day, I realized I had farther to go than I had thought. But the people on the curb were shouting “You’re almost there!” And runners who’d finished ahead of me cheered as I ran by. They helped me remember the finish. They pointed me to the hope of the end of the race because I couldn’t yet see the finish line. That’s what Jesus does for us. He cheers us on and keeps us going. He knows how far it is to the finish. Heck, He’s the one who mapped it out. And He knows we can finish. That’s why we need to keep our gaze fixed on Him and His purpose for this whole Team Hope thing. For the joy set before us is what He will give us one day as we see brothers and sisters rescued from danger.

Oh Lord, give us such a fixed gaze that nothing keeps us from the joy You have set before us in helping those kids. Amen.

Just Run

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.  Hebrews 12:1

The first time I participated in any official race, I couldn’t believe how many clothes lined the streets during those first few miles. We’d be moving along and pass a sweatshirt here, a long-sleeved t-shirt there. I think I even saw some raincoats thrown to the side of the course. I’d heard about this, that volunteers come through and collect the items and then donate them to people who need them. It struck me as odd, nonetheless, that we were allowed to cast off layers of clothing and just leave them right there on the street. I actually found it to be convenient, and in a weird sort of way, fun.  Convenient because I was cold when the race started, but once I got moving and down the course a bit, I got warm and required less clothing. Fun because, really, how often does one get to shed pieces of clothing and leave them on the street?

As we embark on a whole new season of Team Hope, we have a race set before us. That race really has little to do with shedding sweatshirts or even the crazy hills that we’ll run or walk in Cincinnati. It’s a race set before us by God himself. He designed this course. He developed the training plans. He alone holds the medals waiting for us at the end. It’s a race to follow Him into the dark strongholds of childhood slavery and hopelessness.

Hebrews chapter 11 recounts several “Faith Heroes” whose lives are highlighted in the Old Testament at some point. Abraham, Noah, Moses, Daniel, Samson, and more. Each one of them had a course of his or her own laid out for them by God Himself. And each of them ran his or her own race the same way. In faith. Pure and utter faith. Unaltered from his hope, the old man Abraham ”was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise (Heb. 11:11).” In faith, he believed and so was able to see God do the impossible. That was part of his race. Focused on the hope of the promise of God Himself, Noah was able to save his family from the doom of the flood because he trusted God with unwavering faith. Each person mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews had a different course to run. But each ran it the same way. Unhindered faith. Single-minded focus. They knew the hope for which they ran.

Our race is the same. Sure, we each might have a different course, depending on the length of the race we sign up for. But, in all truth, the hope for which we run this race is the same one for which Moses ran. The hope of the promise of God Himself.

See, He promised, to break the chains of injustice if we will humble ourselves for real and trust Him for our strength and sustenance (Isaiah 58). He promised to set the oppressed free if we will trust Him, in true and sincere faith, to fill us with His strength.

The trouble is, like those unnecessary sweatshirts and long-sleeves, we all have stuff that hinders us from running this course to the best of our ability. Maybe it’s pride. You feel weird asking people for money. Or maybe it’s fear. You’ve never done anything like this in your life. Or maybe it’s something altogether different. It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is that you throw it off. Trust the God Who designed the race. Believe that He wants to use you to free kids held captive by horrible, evil people. Believe that He has each step of this entire race laid out.

And just run.