TRIPPING OVER YOUR OWN TWO FEET? | How God’s Grace Keeps You in the Race

For reasons unbeknownst to me, our family signed up to run a marathon relay this coming fall.

At the time, I thought it was a great idea.

"Piece of cake!" I said, strutting around the Christmas tree in my running shoes.

But now it's March; the cake is gone, and I'm remembering what I forgot about running a race or enduring hard seasons.

The biggest obstacle to finishing strong is actually my own two feet.

When the goal overwhelms me, I have a tendency to drag them. 

While shuffling through a day, my toes kick up rocks I never saw coming and mistakenly aim them at the people around me. A smirk, a judgment, a self-righteous quip — all serve as projectiles that hit them and bounce back to trip me.

When we can't change our gait, we start to question our identity. 

Do real runners have problems like this?

It makes us want to sub someone else in.

But long before we planned to run, God put a plan in motion to outmaneuver our faulty steps.

He miraculously lifts us up, so we can get over our mistakes and keep going.

Psalm 91 reveals God's amazing grace in our rock-kicking situations:

"For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (v11-12)

God's grace isn't a passive suggestion — it's an active command to keep you moving forward when you want to sit down and cry.

Because your feet aren't the enemy; they're the target.

There's someone strategically scattering those rocks in your path who wants you out of the race. But God won't let that happen.

The God who lends you wings also fits you with His stomping boots — the Gospel of Grace — to defeat the real enemy in your way.

"You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.”(v13)

You're gonna run this race and run it well.

Not because you're faster or better than most. But for one reason alone — because God sees your heart.

"Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” (v14)

So don't take yourself out of the race before you cross the finish line. The next generation is waiting and watching for you to do your part.

God’s grace will guard and guide you over any obstacle you face - even your own two feet.