The Race

Hey yall! Have you realized we are a little passed the halfway point thru 2025 ? Is it just me, or does it seems like days are flying by and the pages of the bible are becoming more alive now more than ever ?

It's been a few months since my last blog. Life got very busy with my daughter graduating high school and getting ready for college, and we made a move all within a span of senior activities going on around us. Thank God we got it done, and we're all settle and a new journey is beginning in more ways than one for my family. It hasn't however, gone unnoticed that the birth pangs Jesus spoke of to his disciples have began to increase at a phenomenal speed. .

We continue to see technology expansions in AI, wars and rumors of wars, and lately the weather has just been bonkers! Fires, flooding, earthquakes and more are hitting all continents, sometimes one after another.

I don't know how these things make you feel, but to me they remind of the race we as believers are running and the ever present idea that the race could be winding down.

Of course we don't know when our time is up here on this side of heaven, nor do we know when Jesus will return, but we can't deny that something prophetic is happening all around us.

One of the biggest signs is the falling away of confessing Christians from sound biblical teachings and doctrines and conforming more to the world than to the image of Christ. Testimonies of ex-Christians, deconstructing the faith and leaving the faith, and not just leaving but also teaching others to follow them. This should not come as a surprise to us though it can be unsettling. The race you are running may have started out with more runners but now you meet another runner far and few in between the next mile.

Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 24:13 that those that that endured to the end would be saved. Eccl. 9:11 speaks about the race also not being given to the swift or to the strong, so we know the components to the winning this race of life set before us is about endurance.

We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare. Yes, the hare is very fast, but its the tortoise that wins due to his endurance. What others may deem slow or behind, is actually a testament to stamina and steadiness.

If we plan to endure to the end and also run our race to the best of our ability we must render control of our lives to the Holy Spirit. Life will bring about certain changes and challenges and to remain focus, there are certain things we need to do.

1) Rely on God and not our own understanding. We see very little and actually know even a smaller percentage than that. God is outside of time, He created it. Where we think we should be on life's calendar doesn't often align up to where God has us. You may think you should be further along in your race. You should have that career and promotion already, you should already have the house with picket fence and husband/wife plus the two kids. Or you should already have accomplished the goal you made for yourself years ago. God doesn't make mistakes, even when we do. Our calculations of the miles we should have already conquered in our race may not match His. Trust Him. He's the one that shot the gun to start you on course, and He's the one that will be at the finish line.

2) Pace yourself. Runners train for races, and apart of their training is learning when to go fast, and knowing to slow their pace to control their breathing to not burn out. Listen to the Holy Spirit's leading on when to exert our talents and gifts and your presence, and also to know when to slow down. This may look like resting, taking a sabbatical, doing a fast. Taking a break from people, social media and ministry to seclude yourself for a time of prayer and just being still. Burnout is a real thing. If you don't discern your spiritual and physical health then you can become a target of the enemy and get off course. Rest when you need it.

3) Lastly, you must build yourself up in the word of God. It's your spirit man's food and sustenance. Without the proper diet during training, the runner is already defeated before even starting the race. The word of God and prayer go hand in hand. Every believer's race looks different even if the goal and finish line is the same. At times my race is an uphill battle, and at the same time your race may be a smooth asphalt road. As I'm coming out of the valley, you may be traversing thru the mountains. But it's the constant word of God that will propel us all thru life's trials and difficult terrains.

As we see the world looking more and more like the prophecies that are foretold in the bible, we should be motivated to encourage others in the race. Don't think you are running alone, even if you don't see another runner for a while. They are out there.

I'm reminded of the Prophet Elijah and his run in with Jezebel. After having hundreds of her prophets killed, he went on the run as Jezebel pursued to take his life. He complained in fear to God that he was the only one left. God responded by telling him not to fear, because He had hundreds that had not bowed the knee to Jezebel or the false god Baal.

So you are not alone. You may be the only believer in your family or among your friends, but God's true Church is universal!

There is a remnant of runners, running this race- just like you.

Be encouraged. Keep going. The end will not be too far.

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands."

Rev. 7:9

Until next time,

Keep running!

Kee Isadore