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I’ve been working on a blog post for over a week, on why we should ‘practice the presence of God’. Honestly, it was reading something akin to a car manual. While that would probably please my mechanically minded husband—I didn’t think it would agree with 99% of the rest of the populace—so I chucked it and started over.

So, why seek to give God my attention and my affection throughout every moment of my life?

Simply—Because He is worthy. He is a God who bled for me. He was beaten beyond recognition after living a blameless life—never giving into the temptation of sin even one time—so that in His death and resurrection He could claim me as His own. The King of Kings has given every ounce of His strength—His mind, His will, His emotions, His resources—to possess me and draw me into His kingdom—all so that I would reign with Him in paradise, forever!

Jesus was more than aware of every time I’d reject Him, and yet He pursued me. Willingly, the Son of Man laid down His life that I would rule with Him forever. Even now, He is seated at the right hand of the Father living to intercede for me.

How could I not seek to lay my life down for Love? How could I not seek to worship Him with my every breath, my every thought, my every step? The eternal God is worthy of abandoned worship!!! He is worthy of every moment of my life.

I’ve been thinking about the axiom, ‘Life is a marathon—not a sprint.’ Usually what people mean by that is, ‘Slow down. You’ve got to pace yourself. Don’t push too hard. Remember life is long—you don’t want to wear yourself out.’

And I think it’s ridiculous.

For one thing, those who live by this motto probably aren’t runners. Because runners (whether sprinters or marathoners) are consumed with their sport. Real runners change their diets, their sleeping habits, and their schedules in order to get faster and stronger. They can’t compartmentalize their training and continue in sloppiness in other arenas of life. If a runner is serious about improving their best time & beating their last record, running will touch every aspect of their life – regardless of the race they’re running.

Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 9, “24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

Life on this earth is short. I’ve only got one life to live. AND I never know when my turn to stand before the Judge of the Earth will be. However, I know that I will. I also know that I don’t want to look back and wish I’d just run a little bit harder into His heart. Oh the pain I’d feel upon realizing that I could have leaned more into His love and therefore loved others more because of it.

He is worthy—so I run. Life on this earth is short—so I discipline my body and my mind. I want to gain eternal reward—So I set my eyes on Jesus in even the most mundane circumstances. He loves me—so I want to love Him.

As I close, I’m thinking about running cross-country in High School—particularly the invitationals. Early on a Saturday morning, a hundred to two hundred girls would line up next to each other in preparation for a 3.1 mile race. As I would stand there (hopping up and down trying to shake out my nervous energy) I’d be thinking about the whole race— the turns, the hills, the straight-away’s.

I’d visualize the finish—how I’d ‘kick it in’ with my last bit of strength. But I’d also be thinking about the challenge at hand—that first 100 meters. I knew that if I didn’t give the initial part of the race everything I had, I’d get stuck behind the pack and probably wouldn’t get into the position I wanted at the front of the race. I also knew that maintaining a strong pace would be critical to success.

Ah, I love to run!! The thrill of pushing myself as hard as my body will allow, giving myself to a higher goal moment to moment, setting my eyes on the prize -  glorious.  Paul’s analogy is excellent because how hard we run in this life (through every part of the race) – will determine “how we place” in the age to come. We don’t compete against each other, but we war against powers and principalities. We war against the darkness within and all around us, and we run to obtain the prize.

So I visualize the finish. I think about the twists and turns along the way. I set myself for a strong steady start. I practice the presence of God – because I was made to run.