September 30th Devotion

Finding the strength to Do Hard Things
By Keri Eichberger

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. - Habakkuk 3:19

For the past eight years I’ve wondered here and there why God allowed me to work so hard to hit a goal, only to fall slightly short. I mean, I believe there is purpose in all things he calls us to, so I’m always looking for ways to learn from the lessons he scatters along my life. But it’s not always apparent to me. Not immediately anyway.

I was in my mid-thirties and had never run the local mini-marathon. I’d always wanted to when the time was right, and had been enjoying running. In fact, it had become quite therapeutic when my kids were young. My frazzled feet on the open road, pounding out the stress, noise, and chaos of those crazy years.

So, in 2016, I finally signed up, chose a finish goal of two hours, and got to training. When race day came, I was prepared and appropriately conditioned to complete the 13.1 miles in under two hours (based on my trial run pace of nine minutes per mile). But, twelve miles in, a steady rain began to flood the streets and my shoes. My calves locked up, my pace slowed to a jogging crawl, and I collapsed over the finish line at two hours… and 20 seconds.

I missed my mark.
It shouldn’t have mattered so much, honestly. Which has definitely been one of my takeaways over the years. Along with the fact that I am not in control—God is. But out of seemingly nowhere this morning, I had a sort of revelation about the whole experience.

Fast-forward eight years, at the age of almost 45, I struggle to run a single mile in under eleven minutes. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to my running partner, and husband, Mike, “How in the world did I ever run thirteen miles at a nine-minute pace when I can hardly run one now at such a turtle speed?” Then, we chuckle and chalk it up to our aging joints and tired bodies. But this morning, I gained clarity of the true source of my strength all those years ago that had allowed me to do this difficult thing. Something I know I never could’ve done on my own.

It was God all along.
Waking weary, and not sure I could finish my measly mile jog this morning, I felt prompted to dust off my old wired earbuds and search for the songs I’d saved back then that assisted my training runs. I pressed shuffle and within seconds I felt a familiar power surge from years ago as truths of God and lyrics of worship swept into my ears and threw my lungs and legs. Tears began to sting my eyes. I let the sunshine permeate the listless life within me and light up my soul with a renewed strength that felt inextinguishable. And I couldn’t stop at a mile. Fueled by God I kept running.

Yes, it was him all along.
Is there something you’ve been facing or considering that you’re not quite sure how you’ll manage or power through? Remember, God's strength is made perfect in our weakness.

God powered me through my runs. He is the strength that is getting me through today. And when I wonder how I’ll do the next hard thing, I can remember that he is who will be my strength then. God is, was, and will be your strength, too. So maybe all along my falling short was just to keep me on the lookout for what God wanted to teach me. Because I think many times we learn more in life when we don’t get the reward we wanted, when we have to wait, and when we fall a little short.

Today, I was assured once again that it is not me sustaining and strengthening the outputs of my life. God is. And when we are tapped into him, fueled up with his people, his word, his presence – reminders of his love and sovereign protection – we find his strength and power that can make anything he wills for our life possible.