The Race Marked Out

Accepting the race He gave you…you may not understand it, but if you belong to Him and are totally committed to Him - heart, soul, mind and strength - you can trust that the race you are on is the one He gave you, that He marked out just for you. The key is to accept that what He gave you in this life, in terms of your particular challenges, is for His good purpose - and yours.

At our recent Women’s Conference, I was reminded of the prayers of one of the intercessors for the event who had heard in her spirit that the Conference was not going to be all “feel-good” and that there would be a time where someone would feel as if they had suddenly sat on a tack! I know when that happened at the Conference, although I did not pre-plan it or have any idea what the intercessor could have been referring to prior to the Conference.

Later, I heard from several women that the challenge came to them when I spoke of accepting the race marked out for you. (Heb. 12:1) The Lord has given each of us works that He planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10) and a particular calling, a particular race that He marked out. At times we forget this, that the race we are running has been perfectly marked out just for us. Our lives, with all the different parts and pieces, are totally relevant for His purposes.

I do believe that you can stop agonizing over your lot in life and accept that this is the race He marked out. And that it is purposeful. And that you can run it. He would not have given you this particular race if you could not run it to completion in Messiah Yeshua.

How does that change perspective – it changes it totally. We go from complaining, struggling, outrage, resentment, depression and anger, to acceptance and embracing the challenge – we now say, with great faith and trust in Him - “given that this is the race marked out for me, what does He require of me now, this moment”.

A “settled-before-God” kind of calm slips over us as we accept, and, yes, embrace, that this truly is the race marked out for us – this is what God chose, what God allowed. His choice is perfect for us. His plan will develop in us what we need in order to take our place, the place He is preparing for us, in our eternal destiny. We will no longer fight this race. We will purpose in our hearts to run it! He has established our destiny! (Ps. 139:16; Ps. 90:17)

This calling to be joined with the Lord, to be One with Him, is higher than any other aspiration or goal - either now in the olam hazeh or in eternity, in the olam haba. His glory, His worship, unity with God -this is what Yeshua has planned for us. This is what He has done for us – Yeshua made a way for us to run an impossible race to win a glorious Prize. You will cross the finish line. You will receive the Prize.

The key to running the race with joy and endurance is this – we must know the Hope and Joy set before us. (Heb. 12:2-3) We must know Yeshua – He is the Hope and He is the Joy set before us in Zion. (Psalm 84:5-7) We must know this truth with every ounce of our being. We must stir this hope up inside of us through the revelation of the Word - read it, eat it, digest it, share it, live it, walk in it, and glory in it. (Jer. 15:16) There is Hope so high, so Other, but so ours because of Yeshua opening the gate and making the way. (John 10:3-4)

This race that you are on is not something strange that should not have happened – it’s a race of relevance – it’s connected to your calling. (I Peter 4:12-13) Trust that this is true or He would not have marked out this particular race for you. Accept it, embrace it, and then run it. Don’t run away from the race and try to refuse it, run toward Him. It’s spiritually run and you may never understand exactly why He chose what He chose to make you who you are meant to be, but you can be sure that if you are His, your destiny is His Glory. (I Peter 4:13-14)

Yeshua Himself ran a race and endured the impossible for this reason – for the Hope set before Him. (Heb. 12:2-3) This is how He did it and this is how we will do it. He scorned the shame of the cross. Sometimes the race marked out is not what we expected and sometimes we will not like it - maybe a lot of times we won’t like it! He, too, scorned the shame of what He endured, but the Hope set before us is so glorious that we fix our eyes on Yeshua, and we do not look to the right or to the left. We look straight ahead with the dove’s eyes He gives His Beloved.

At times we see glimpses of what He has prepared and at times we only feel the sting of what we are momentarily enduring, but the Hope is sure. The destiny is sure. The promise is real. The One we serve is faithful. He will do what He says.

The race is worth it, and the race is purposeful, and the race is joyous because we know that by running it, we are doing our part to bring His kingdom to this earth. We will serve Him throughout the endless ages. What we have aspired to do in our lifetimes is pitifully insignificant in comparison to what He has planned. (I Cor.2:9; Ps. 40:5; Isa. 64:4; Eph. 3:20)

You will do mighty exploits for Him. (Daniel 11:32) You will serve Him now and forever and you will be able to taste the glory even now if you will embrace the calling, embrace the race and run it with endurance. (II Cor. 3:18) Hope will give you that endurance. Feed yourself the truth of the Hope that lies before you. You will run and not grow weary. You will walk and not faint. And if you stumble, He will raise you up. You will never be snatched from His hand.

We will run the race marked out for us and we will receive the Prize, Oneness with the God of All Glory and eternal joy at His right hand now and forevermore.

Blessings and love in Yeshua ha Mashiach,

Cathy

Cathy Hargett

Highway to Zion Ministries, Inc.

www.highwaytozion.org