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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

My son is a runner. Recently he completed a race through the Canadian mountains, finishing the course after 22 hours. What a course! It took him from mountain tops with beautiful vistas through deep valleys that required slogging through mud and muck – in the dark! “The organizers set the course,” he said as he painfully limped home, “we just had to run it.”

Suddenly, everything is different. I didn’t sign up for this race! Maybe it will have some good sections, but those valleys? Some of them look pretty tough! I am 73 this month—in a group considered more at risk. It hard not think about it.

In times of uncertainty, we look for fixed points, “grab bars” to steady us. Today’s verse has one of mine: the course ahead has been “marked out” by the Lord. “Marked out,” not determined by a microbe, the economy or anything else. These things can affect the race, but my job is not to choose the course but to run it faithfully.

Vistas or valleys, my life is the hands of the heavenly father who loves me and Jesus who ran the race ahead of me. My steps may be a bit shaky at times, but if I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, I know it’s going to be OK. So I run, walk, even stumble along, but I keep going. I am not alone. 

He is with you, too. The Lord runs with us. Keep your eyes on him!