God is the Rock

Before my long run on Saturday, I opened up my Heart of an Athlete devotional to a passage entitled "Lean on Me."  The verse highlighted was Isaiah 26:4, which says, "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."  I believe I was meant to read this before my run because I needed to remind myself that God is there for me to lean on in times of struggle, which is how I felt for my 11.5 miler.
I started out with a spring in my step, but only after about 1.5 miles my quads began aching due to the pace that was set.  This was to be expected of course being as I was training with a running maniac and a gazelle (I use these as terms of endearment because I view them both as blessings in my life).  Satan of course was hinting that I should give up, but I remembered the verse from Isaiah and kept pressing on even as the distance between myself and the other two expanded.  The lyrics from the song "Lean on Me" floated across my brain as another subliminal reference to God being my Rock while I was in a tough spot.  We kept trekking farther and farther from town to the point that I knew I really couldn't turn back.  All that time  I had this constant internal battle with Satan and tried my hardest to remember to just trust in my God given abilities.
At Gatorade stops, my two partners in crazy distance running waited for me to catch up, but I was thankful that they continued at their own pace so that I did not sense that I was being a burden. I was just happy to be out doing the run and realizing that I could do it by pushing myself being as I was lagging so far behind that I hardly saw the other two.  Once we reached a spot called Hickory Valley, I could finally sense that the burden of running was slowly being lifted off of me.  Sure my quads ached, but I actually felt like I was enjoying myself.  It was a beautiful sunny morning and perfect running weather.  I  then began thinking about the latest Josh Wilson song called "I Refuse", which is all about listening to our calling from God and not making anymore excuses.  When it comes down to it, I feel that my running is one thing that I have been making excuses about and refusing to do in a way.  Instead of somehow being an inspiration to others by choosing to run for extended periods of time, I was choosing to determine I was too tired to even bother and leaving it up to someone else.  But this long run after having a cold reminded me that I can do anything with God as my Rock and that I should not refuse my calling and actually perform the work of God through my running.
As I finally got closer to town again, I saw my professor waiting for me.  She ran the last mile with me, which definitely helped, though I knew that God would be the one to get me up the last hill.  What was nice to hear was how she felt I was mentally tough and able to conquer a variety of distances on varying terrains.  Hopefully the Holy Spirit will continue to shine through me so that others notice the source of my abilities.