Keep Moving Forward

Running is all about moving forward. You never run backwards. You put one foot in front of the other and keep going. And sometimes that’s easy, and other times that is incredibly difficult. When running long distances, the deeper into the run the more difficult each steps becomes but you continue to move forward to reach the end of your distance or to finish your race.

Job knew a thing or two about how painful moving forward could be. Even though the Devil destroy his physical life – He was bankrupt, deformed, sick, abandoned, blamed, and grieving when the Devil finished with Him – Job continued to trust in God and continued to move forward.

Job was in pain – mental, spiritual, and physical pain. His spirit was broken. He had become the laughing stock of his neighbors and most of his “friends”. The friends that did remain blamed Job for what was happening. He is on the brink of hopelessness yet tucked in the middle of His hopelessness he makes a profound statement.

“The righteous keep moving forward and those with clean hands grow stronger and stronger.” (Sometimes translations read “The righteous will hold his way.”)

Job knew that the only way to get through what was happening to Him was to keep pressing forward and to stay His course with God. In so doing, He knew he would come out stronger for it.

Sometimes running God’s race is fun, exciting, and pleasant but other times the race gets hard. We face hard, painful, and hopeless times and it seems almost impossible to keep moving forward and to stay in the race. Sometimes we want to quit and give up. But that’s not what Job did. Job kept moving forward toward God because God was the only place he could find relief. Job’s life is recounted to help us stay the course and keep moving forward regardless of our earthly circumstances.

So when we run through those moments and we all will – it is the nature of a very long runs, imagine Job is working the next water/air station. You get there and you say “I don’t think I can keep going. I don’t think I can finish.” Job simply pats you on the back, hands you a cup of water and Gatorade and says “it’s okay to slow down but do not stop moving forward. You’ve come so far. Each step brings you closer to the finish line. You can do it! I believe in you! Keep moving forward!” #runningtherace