To run the laps of others
and to walk down every street
God has not promised blessings
Nor His might when problems greet
But His strength is for the weary
And His power to us is given
Through every long and lonely lap
On our own race to Heaven
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Isaiah 40:29 ESV
Our Own Race
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2025
All rights reserved
There is no faith That has not journeyed on Nor hope that’s true Where no battles have been won Neither joy in Christ Without some sorrow known Or love of God That has not hatred borne But He gives hope When grace its work has done And joy for strength To rest in God’s own Son By steps of faith Each day our race is run Until in love We reach our Father’s home By Steps of Faith Copyright © 2022 Peter Caligiuri All rights reserved
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 ESV
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In the middle of this crisis the danger that we as Christians face is to long to go back to that what we considered normal rather than a longing to go forward into the new path that God is opening ahead.
A long time ago I used to be on our school’s track team. While I was never really very good I learned a few valuable tips about how to run a long distance race.
The first thing is to pace ourselves and conserve our strength for the final lap. In the Christian life we are also in a race and we must run with the finish line in our minds. As we are in the heat of this Covid-19 war maybe we should ask ourselves a simple question, “What is God wanting to change in my life and where might He be leading?” As Paul said; in order for us to run well we need to forget what lies behind us. If we are planning and strategizing how to get back to once was we will never be able to set our eyes on where God wants us to go.
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Secondly in order to pace ourselves properly we need to just run our own race. Everyone has a different way of running and we must not try to keep up with what other people are doing. Even though God calls all of us towards His heavenly goal, the way He has designed for each of us to run is unique. Just as Peter talked even when he didn’t know what to say, and Thomas wouldn’t take anyone else’s word for things so we are also all different, but together we form a team.
Last of all Paul encourages us to press towards the goal. The United States and the world at large will never be the same after this Corona virus fades into history. But God’s purpose of bringing men and women to His kingdom remains unchanged. If we waste all of our energy at trying to go back to what once was we will miss the opportunity to discover what might be. So like Paul, let’s keep our eyes fixed on the prize because the finish line is in sight!
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