Running…

Running….this is a theme the Lord keeps drawing to my attention.

Recently, a friend shared that she heard the Lord say “Don’t run ahead of Me”.

I understood the warning in those words from the Holy Spirit not to get ahead of the Lord in our planning but it was the word “run” that stirred in me and challenged me.

Was I even running with the Lord?

As I was thinking on those words our Pastor opened the service with these verses from Isaiah.

“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired.”
Isaiah 40.31 AMP

Again those words “they will run and not become weary” stirred in my heart.

Who will run and not become weary?

Those that wait on the Lord.

I like the Amplified translation which refers to those who expect, look for and hope in God.

The Lord has been speaking to me over the last 12/18 months about waiting patiently and I have posted on this theme a few times.

It is time to run (not walk) where He leads.

Running with Him but not ahead of Him.

This challenges me:

Am I ready to run…

Do I want to run..

In the physical my running days are well and truly passed and I really don’t enjoy running anyway, never have done as I always got a stitch and it was just not enjoyable, but we are encouraged to run in our Christian faith.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us”
Hebrews 12.1 AMP

Are we running in that race of faith?

Physically we know that running requires more strength, stamina and effort than walking. We have to be fit and prepared. We burn more reserves and we need to be in good physical shape or we will injure ourselves. You just can’t decide to run a race without any preparation.

This is why the Lord encourages us to actively wait on Him so we are prepared to run with Him.

We feed and build ourselves up in strength in the Word of God, in our prayer times and in relationship with each other as we encourage ourselves in the hope we have in Christ Jesus the Lord. Our returning King. We build resilience and strength in testing times as we endure in faith not giving up but pressing ahead when everything is against us.

Let us be encouraged to build our spiritual muscles of faith so we can run and run and run and not grow weary.

Lead us on Lord so we will choose to run with you.

Running the race you have for each one of us, not ahead of you, not lagging behind you but right beside you.

The Lord as our guide.