Running Thoughts from Kerry Wester

 I have started jogging lately and its funny how God can use stuff like this to teach you to rely on His strength. Backing up a little, things have been quite stressful and hard in our family lately with some struggles the younger boys are having. Some days things happen and I just ask myself how much longer can I hold on. I am tired and its too much. Then for some reason I "happen" upon this jogging thing. I decide I need to get a little exercise and it would be a good stress reliever.

 

 

So I started. Little did I know God had a bigger plan for me. The first few weeks it was all I could do to survive the 90 sec intervals. Then the next was 90 sec 3min. intervals. Well I was going along on day three of those intervals and after each 3 mins I really literally thought I was either going to throw up OR hyperventilate!! It was on day 3 that I went and also had a very difficult day with one of the boys so I actually went alone that day. As I was coming up to my 3 min jog I kept thinking I cant do this its to hard. I started telling this to God. Its too much God, just like everything else in my life. Why does it have to be so hard. Why, why can't something in my life be easy. Then a verse came into my mind, Isaiah 40:31, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall RUN AND NOT BE WEARY, they shall walk and not faint. It was as if God was saying, " ask me Kerry, I can give you the strength you need." I told God, I can't do this anymore alone, why have I even been trying. Please help me to run and not be weary God. I started that 3 minutes and I kid you not, I ran it and could have kept going!! I had never run like that before. For me it was God saying, I can be your strength. Keep running and you won't get weary. It was His tangible way of showing me He really can renew my strength if I wait on Him. Not only can I run those 3 minutes and not get weary, I can run the race of Life that so often becomes so hard when I forget I am not running it alone. Phil 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ALL things, why do I forget that? After all this I sat down last night and read Isaiah 40. Not only does 40:31 encourage but listen to what God says starting in 28, Do you not know, Have you not heard: The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall BUT vs 31 again, they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint. To this I add, teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait!