The first thing you must know is that I was a tried and true church kid growing up. Like if you click the hashtag #churchkidz, my face would probably pop up. During that time in my childhood, I was involved in something called RA’s (Royal Ambassadors) and we would have periodic track and field days and other outdoor activities. My favorite part of all this was race day. You see, I was prepared for race day. I was excited for race day. I had all the gear: shoes, sweat bands, running shorts, everything you need! And I thought I was truly ready. Come to find out, I wasn’t even prepared.

We got to the starting line. As the whistle blew, I took off running! But, about halfway through the race, I started to get a cramp and I didn’t get to finish. Anti-climatic story, I know. But, it taught me something. One thing I can tell you for sure that no one celebrates is not finishing something you started. No one is happy to leave a story untold, a goal unaccomplished. 

You might not be stretching your hamstrings for your next track and field day, but we’re all in a race of some kind! Everyone’s race is set at a different pace. Some of us are lazy and some of us are unaware of the goal and purpose of our lives. Some of us are even busy running the wrong race. All the while, the world around us is also racing - trying to see how fast and how much they can accumulate and gather up for themselves. 

It’s important to know your lane as a believer and run the race that is marked out for you!

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 
Colossians 4:2 NIV 

For example, let’s look at the apostle Paul’s race. Paul (then Saul) was busy killing Christians until Jesus saved him and then he went everywhere telling people this good news of Jesus. He faced extreme difficulties as a result of that. Even still, he often cautioned believers to remind themselves, as he did, of what Christ Jesus saved them from. 

“You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” 
Acts 20:20-24 NIV

Good news is not good news because someone else told me about it...it’s good news because it changed me! Paul knew he was graced to run his race. And you are graced to run yours! 

How was he able to do this? Paul stayed thankful. He was committed to finishing his race with a spirit of gratitude and thanks. 

I don’t know your circumstances. But, I do know it can be hard to keep a posture of a grateful and thankful heart when life’s difficulties come calling. Here’s a few ways you can make sure you finish it thankful this year like Paul. 

1. Keep perspective (never get over being saved) 

If you want to remain thankful heading into the end of 2020, remind yourself what He saved you from. I was saved at a young age, but I still got the revelation that God could save me from what I haven’t even gotten to yet! 

You see, God is the Author and Finisher. This means that God has written the course of your life. Now you have a choice to stay on that course or run away from it. And yet, God is so good that He can redeem our bad choices that derail us and put us right back on course. He even knows where the finish line is.

The amazing part of all this is that God also doesn’t choose to run our race for us! In fact, Jesus came and ran His own race that we all should have had to run. But He did it instead so that we could be graced to race in our own lane for his glory. Your race is unique. It’s not about finishing first. It’s about finishing well. One way to do that, is to finish it thankful. 

Jesus said the first shall be last and the last shall be first. 

 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” 
Matthew 20:16 NLT 

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT

2. Know that it’s not trying...it’s training. 

Thankfulness isn’t something we just come by naturally, unfortunately. You don’t TRY it and have it, you TRAIN for it and express it.

Our training is different in the spiritual realm than athletes in the natural. Our training is not duty, but devotion. But, devotion does not come without discipline. Don’t abandon (quit) the race, because you won’t be thankful!

3. Get the right people in your life.

I’m not running a lot of footraces anymore like I did as a kid, but my friends know that I am an avid cyclist. If you’re passionate about the sport like I am, you know that there is a significant difference between cycling alone and cycling as a group. This is because of the concept of drafting.

Drafting is when a group of riders of three or more will ride in a single file line. The farther back you are, the easier it is to ride because you’re relying on the team in front of you to take the brunt of the wind working against you. Also, copying the rhythm of another rider’s pedal helps you to stay in cadence and in step as a team.

It’s crucial when riding together that everyone does their part and the benefit of thinking as a team and supporting one another can’t be overstated. But, when you get out of pace with the rest of the group, it not only slows you down, but it impacts the rest of the group as well. Now, everyone has to work harder. You need a team.

Trust me, when you’re about eighty miles into a bike race and you’re all alone, you’ll probably want to quit. You’ll question your endurance and start to feel like you’re in the wrong place. But, if you have a team around you encouraging you and supporting you, you’ll go a lot farther than you could’ve gone alone.

So don’t run your race alone! The people you run with will help you to finish thankful. You can’t live the right way with the wrong people! I’d rather be in the wrong place with the right people than to be in the right place with the wrong people.

Just take a look at Paul and Silas. They ended up in prison cells, and yet God used their trial for His glory because they knew how to praise and thank their way out of their circumstances. I don’t know where you find yourself today, but surround yourself with people who know how to be thankful in the good times and the bad. 

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”
Colossians 3:15–17

4. STAY IN THE WORD OF GOD!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

We run with endurance by keeping our eyes on Jesus. To do that, we have to be in the word of God to have a life of endurance! You can’t know God's will (course for your life) if you don’t know God's word.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

You won’t be walking in God’s will for your life and not be thankful! For the Christian who doesn’t know the importance of a grateful spirit, it’s time to adjust your course if you are not choosing to express thankfulness today.

Be thankful at the start. 
Thankfulness will get you through the middle.
And finishing the race is only worth it when you do it thankful!

I have learned that more often than not, I don’t need my situation to change to be thankful. Instead, I choose thankfulness and it changes me until I myself begin to get better. And that’s what God was wanting for me all along.

I pray you find the strength and grace to remain thankful for the rest of 2020, no matter what circumstances may come, as this is God’s will for your race!