THE FINAL RACE

Today was the day. March 7th in Anchorage, Alaska for the infamous Iditarod run. It comprises 12-14 dogs to run 1,000 miles over what used to be the mail route and gold rush route in Alaska. But, the day did not start in March. It started when the dogs were just pups. The mushers, their human alpha dog, would find the right type of dog, and then would build their team. Day after day they would run for strength, conditioning, and endurance. It was the job of the musher to build trust with the dogs in order for them to run in the right direction…otherwise there was chaos and they would lose their way. Each of the dogs were chosen for the right position, as each of them play a different role and they could only move forward when all of them were working together in unison. At times the musher would change out their line so the dogs were spread out on the ice. This was critical because they could be encountering possible danger and their position could jeopardize their survival. And then it was time to run…and run they did. They trusted their musher, knowing he would lead them in the right direction, take care of them with sleep and rest, food, possible injuries, protection when they encountered dangerous ice or storms. They knew they were loved more than anything else…and so they run…they can run through any storm, change course when the musher leads them, and can rest peacefully. Yes, you guessed it. We are the dogs that our loving musher, the Father Himself, has chosen. He can be trusted to guide us through difficult storms, to protect us when the enemy wants to hurt us , to care for all of our needs, to help us rest peacefully when we have no more strength to run the race. Our loving Father has already chosen our trail and knows which one we will be on…and has equipped us to run that trail. Our job is to TRUST him..to stay on the course He has set for us..and then RUN, RUN with confidence, knowing that He has already gone before us and knows the path. The question for you is who do you trust? What trail are you running on? And where do you end? Do you need to change course and trust in the only true musher? Jesus. As Easter approaches, we can be assured that Jesus, who chose to die on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave, to defeat death and sin, is the only true and faithful one. Choose this day who will be your Lord and Savior…for when our race is over, our heavenly musher will bring us over the finish line, with these words “ Well done, good and faithful servant..well done”. In this race we all win…As the Bible writes in Hebrews 12:1 “ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off EVERYTHING that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us….see you all at the finish line!