He is my Delight

1 Corinthians 9:26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty.

There are people who run for pleasure, or for fitness. They run a while and then turn around and go back. They have no particular destination. Paul wasn’t living his life without a certain aim. There was a finish line he was running towards and it was always on his mind.

It’s only the sprinter who can see the finish line from the starting line. The marathon runner knows there is a finish line although he doesn’t see it for most of the race. He will run for miles and miles and miles and never see the finish line ahead of him. He just stays on the path, knowing it will lead him to the finish.

The scenery around the path may change from time to time as he goes through a city and then past a field of flowers. He doesn’t expect it to always look the same. He just keeps running.

Within the last year many have felt they are running with uncertainty. I think of all the people in ministry who feel sidelined right now because of shut downs and restrictions related to Covid. Prison ministries are shut down. Many churches are shut down. Hospitals aren’t allowing people in to visit and pray. There are a lot of people who have been very active in ministry, running the race, but now feel like they are idle and unfruitful and the finish line seems uncertain. They were on the path and running the race and now the scenery has changed and things don’t seem as clear.

Just keep running. Stay on the path. Be faithful to do what is at hand in the moment. This is a marathon so we won’t see the finish line for a while, but the path will lead you there…to cross the finish line…to obtain the prize…to hear the words:

“Well done my good and faithful servant”