Maybe it’s because I’m stressed about my first marathon tomorrow, but I saw this on TV and busted a gut. Had to find it on YouTube and link it here. Hope you like it as much as I did.

Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Today I am travelling up to Richmond so I can spend a few days with my family before I run in my first marathon on Saturday. In fact, I am writing this Evotion on the road from my iPhone, but that’s beside the point.

I’m pretty pumped about it because I’ve worked and trained hard for this, but more so because I’m running it in memory of my brother. I’ll write more about that after the race, so let me get to the point of today’s Evotion for now.

I’ve noticed over the last few weeks an increased desire to frequent a runner’s forum a bit more than I regularly do (which is pretty much daily as it is). Mostly it’s because there are some great people there who have run marathons before and they’re always full of great advice. As the day of my first 26.2 trek gets closer, I’m finding that I can’t get enough of their advice, their encouragement, but most of all, their unwavering belief that I will not only complete the race, but do well in it.

This is, of course, what our verse in Hebrews is about (not so much about church, although that’s the way it’s usually taught). The author has just told his readers that they have a way of access to God and that they can be confident in Jesus’ ability to save them and keep them. He also told them that there would be difficulty along the way. Is it any real surprise that he would tell them to ramp up the encouragement as they see the Day approaching? Of course not. All of us need in our faith exactly what I’ve needed the last few weeks: kind and honest words about what awaits us on the road ahead along with the encouraging words about how we can trust the process.

I will return from Richmond with a finisher’s medal, and you and I will both finish the greater race we’re running.

They’ll be crowns at the end of that one.

Proverbs 4:11-12
I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

When I woke up this morning, I realized that in one week I’ll be loading up my family and driving north to Richmond, Virginia, in order to run in my first marathon on November 14. I’m excited, nervous, and at times, scared out of my mind. Verses like the ones today are the kind that runners should always claim before a big race, because the last thing I want to do is find myself sprawled out on a road somewhere in downtown Richmond with hundreds of onlookers taking pictures that’ll get posted all over the internet. It makes me feel the pain of the people in the picture I added to this Evotion, because they experienced what I hope I don’t. It’s sad to go viral with a picture that captured such an epic fail. I hope it doesn’t happen to me in Richmond, but this passage gives me plenty of confidence that it won’t happen in my faith. Let’s break it down…

If we’re willing to walk in the way of wisdom, we get a couple of really good promises. The first is that we’ll be lead along straight paths. Now, this does not mean there won’t be curves or odd, unexpected turns. I’ve always wondered about that, because even though our experience shouldn’t dictate how we interpret scripture, any believer with a pulse can attest that there are plenty of life-altering turns along the way. So, we can’t read “straight” as meaning “easy” because it doesn’t. What it does mean is “right” or “what ought to be done.” When I think of my marathon, I’m kidding myself to think it will be easy, but because I’ve trained correctly and with wisdom, I should be able to run the right kind of race for me (which is slow in case you’re wondering!). Wisdom guides us along the correct paths and that’s a great benefit.

Second, we’re told that our steps won’t be hampered, which basically means that they won’t be bound up or hindered. Yes, wisdom allows us to walk free. It puts us in a place where we don’t feel the ball and chain of past failures or future fears. And when you walk like that, it’s just a matter of time before you can’t help but pick it up a little. Notice that progression? You walk along the right path – the road which you were made for – and you walk in total freedom. Like a child on the first day of summer break, your walk turns into a run, and you find yourself laughing at how much fun you’re having. There is no thought of not finishing, or of falling, because you were made for this! You were made to run without stumbling!

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Sounds like we should never get tired, never want to quit, and never have bad days. Yeah, right. All of us experience those feelings from time to time, but when you’re walking where you should, and the freedom that you feel leads you to a run, you suddenly find yourself running with confidence – even when you’re experiencing a bad run.

Whether you’re walking, running, or just getting started, you can take confidence in this: when you let the wisdom of the Lord guide you, your race – no matter how long or hard – will never end with you sprawled out along the road of life with onlookers gawking and pointing. There is no epic fail waiting for the believer who is led by wisdom.

Run today in the strength of that promise.