Tag: running

What Running Taught Me About The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

Today’s a new day! Back in 2003, while having a cancerous golf ball sized tumor removed from my chest, I had a vision that God wanted me to start running marathons and sharing the Gospel. No, it wasn’t the medications talking. Four months after having my chest cracked open, I laced up my running shoes and began a journey that was about much more than physical exercise. What started out as a God given vision eventually became a living illustration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With every mile, every struggle, and every victory, God showed me truths that I had read in Scripture but had never fully experienced until I began running.

The Journey Begins With A Single Step:

No one wakes up one morning and suddenly runs a marathon. Every runner begins with a single step. The same is true in our walk with Christ. Salvation begins when we take that first step of faith and trust Jesus as our Savior.

Many people look at mature believers and assume they have always been strong in their faith. The reality is that every Christian starts at the same place—at the foot of the cross, completely dependent on God’s grace.

Running reminded me that God is not asking us to be perfect overnight. He simply asks us to take the next faithful step.

Endurance Is Built Through Difficulty:

Every runner knows that growth comes through discomfort. There are days when your legs are tired, your lungs are burning, and everything inside you wants to quit. Yet those difficult miles are often the ones that make you stronger.

The Christian life is no different.

Trials, hardships, disappointments, and seasons of suffering are not signs that God has abandoned us. Often they are the very tools He uses to strengthen our faith. Just as endurance is developed on the running trail, spiritual endurance is developed through life’s challenges.

The Gospel does not promise an easy road. It promises that Jesus will walk with us every step of the way.

You Can’t Finish Looking Behind You:

One lesson running taught me quickly is that constantly looking over your shoulder will slow you down.

Spiritually, many believers struggle because they spend their lives staring at past failures, past mistakes, and past regrets. The enemy loves to remind us of who we used to be.

But the Gospel reminds us of who we are in Christ.

Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. Through His grace, we are forgiven, redeemed, and made new. We honor God not by living in guilt but by moving forward in faith.

Runners finish races by focusing on what lies ahead. Christians grow by keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus.

The Race Is Not Against Other People:

One of the biggest mistakes runners make is comparing themselves to everyone else. Someone will always be faster. Someone will always have a better finish time.

The Christian life is not a competition.

God has given each of us a unique calling, a unique testimony, and a unique race to run. The goal is not to be better than someone else. The goal is to be faithful to what God has called us to do.

Comparison steals joy, but gratitude fuels perseverance.

Sometimes You Have to Keep Going Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

Not every run feels amazing. Some days motivation is nowhere to be found. Yet discipline carries you when feelings disappear.

Faith works much the same way.

There are days when we feel close to God and days when we do not. There are seasons when prayer feels effortless and seasons when it feels difficult. There are moments when worship flows naturally and moments when we worship by faith.

The Gospel teaches us that our relationship with God is not based on feelings but on the finished work of Jesus Christ.

We keep praying.
We keep believing.
We keep trusting.
We keep moving forward.

Every Finish Line Points to Something Greater:

Crossing a finish line brings a sense of accomplishment, but every race eventually ends. Another race always waits ahead.

Running taught me that earthly victories are temporary, but the promises of God are eternal.

The greatest finish line is not found at the end of a race course. It is found when we stand before Jesus and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The Gospel reminds us that this world is not our final destination. We are running toward eternity with Christ.

Final Thoughts:

Running has taught me countless lessons about perseverance, discipline, and determination. Yet the greatest lesson it has taught me is this: the Christian life is not about running perfectly; it is about staying faithful to the One who called us.

When we stumble, Jesus lifts us up.

When we grow weary, Jesus gives us strength.

When we feel like quitting, Jesus reminds us of the hope set before us.

So keep running your race.

Keep walking by faith.

Keep trusting Jesus.

The miles may be long, the hills may be steep, and the journey may be difficult, but the Gospel assures us that we never run alone. Christ is with us every step of the way, and because of Him, the victory is already secured.

I hope this encourages both runners and non-runners to see how everyday experiences can point us back to the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. ~OC

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A Look Into 26.2

Today’s a new day!

There’s something powerful about the number 26.2.

For runners, it represents the full distance of a marathon — a journey that stretches the body, tests the mind, and reveals what’s truly inside a person. Nobody accidentally finishes 26.2 miles. It takes endurance, perseverance, discipline, and the willingness to keep moving even when every step feels heavy.

In many ways, the Christian life feels a lot like a marathon.

There are moments when faith feels effortless — when the sun is shining, prayers are being answered, and God’s blessings seem to overflow at every turn. But there are also difficult miles. The lonely miles. The exhausting miles. The stretches where you wonder if you can keep going.

Yet through every mile of life, God offers something the world cannot give: His peace.

Jesus said in The Gospel of John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”

That kind of peace is not dependent on circumstances. It is not tied to comfort, finances, success, or ease. God’s peace shows up in the middle of the race — when your legs are weak, your heart is tired, and you feel like stopping.

Anyone who has ever run a marathon knows there is usually a moment called “hitting the wall.” It’s the point where exhaustion crashes into you physically and mentally. Suddenly the finish line feels impossibly far away. For me, the wall always came at mile nineteen. I had to dig deep to keep moving forward.

Life has walls too.

Maybe it’s grief.
Maybe it’s uncertainty.
Maybe it’s a season of waiting.
Maybe it’s prayers that seem unanswered.
Maybe it’s carrying burdens nobody else sees.

But God specializes in strengthening weary runners.

The Book of Isaiah reminds us:

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary.”

Notice that Scripture does not say believers will never get tired. It says God renews us in the middle of the race.

That is one of the greatest blessings of following Jesus — we were never meant to run alone.

At mile 5 of life, He is with us.
At mile 13, He is with us.
At mile 20, when everything hurts, He is still with us.
And at mile 26.2, when we finally cross the finish line, He is waiting with open arms.

God’s blessings are not always flashy or loud. Sometimes His greatest blessings look like:

  • Peace during chaos
  • Strength during weakness
  • Hope during heartbreak
  • Joy during uncertainty
  • Rest in the middle of exhaustion

Those blessings sustain us for the long run.

A marathon runner learns quickly that the race is not won in a sprint. It is won through consistency — one faithful step at a time. The same is true spiritually. Faith is built daily. Prayer by prayer. Step by step. Moment by moment.

Some days your pace may feel strong.
Other days you may barely move forward.

But if you are still walking with Jesus, you are still in the race.

And here’s the beautiful thing about God’s grace: He is not standing at the finish line condemning exhausted runners. He runs beside us. He strengthens us. He carries us when necessary. His peace becomes the oxygen for weary souls.

The Christian life is not about running perfectly.
It is about running faithfully.

So wherever you are in your “26.2 miles” today, remember this:

God sees every step.
He hears every prayer.
He knows every struggle.
And His peace is available for every mile ahead.

Keep running.
Keep trusting.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

The finish line will be worth it. ~OC

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The Water Station

Today’s a new day! Over the last few months, I have written a collection of short stories entitled “Miles That Still Matter.” I thought I would share another one with you today. ~OC

The church hosted a community 5K every spring.

For years, Ed had been one of the lead runners. Now he volunteered at the water station near mile two.

At first, he hated it.

Watching runners glide past felt like torture.

But halfway through the race, a teenage boy stopped near the table, bent over, exhausted.

“I can’t do this,” the boy gasped.

Ed handed him water.

“What’s your name?”

“Eli.”

“First race?”

The boy nodded.

Ed smiled. “You know the biggest lie in distance running?”

Eli shrugged.

“That strong runners never struggle.”

Ed pointed down the road.

“The best runners in the world hit walls. They cramp. They doubt themselves. The difference is they keep moving.”

Eli looked unconvinced.

Ed continued, “That’s true spiritually too. 

Following Jesus doesn’t mean you never get tired. It means you keep turning toward Him when you are.”

The starting horn echoed faintly in the distance behind them.

Ed said softly, “The cross was uphill too.”

Eli stood quietly for a moment.

Then he took another cup of water.

“I think I can finish.”

Ed grinned.

“One mile at a time.”

As Eli jogged away, Ed realized something holy:

God had taken him off the racecourse so he could stand at the water station for hurting souls.

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The Empty Road

Today’s a new day! Over the last few months, I have written a collection of short stories entitled “Miles That Still Matter.” I thought I would share one with you today. ~OC

Every morning at 5:00 a.m., Ed still woke up before sunrise.

For twenty years, he had laced up his running shoes before the world stirred awake. Marathons had shaped his life. He knew the quiet roads, the rhythm of breath, the ache in his legs at mile twenty-two, and the victory of crossing finish lines.

But now the shoes sat untouched beside the door.

A neurological condition had changed everything.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he whispered every morning, though he knew tomorrow would not come.

One chilly Florida morning, Ed sat on his porch with a cup of coffee, listening to a Carolina Wren sing from the oak tree nearby. His neighbor, Marcus, walked by slowly with his dog.

“Haven’t seen you running lately,” Marcus said carefully.

Ed forced a smile. “Doctors say those days are over.”

Marcus nodded awkwardly. “That’s rough.”

For a long moment, neither man spoke.

Then Ed quietly said, “You know what marathon running taught me?”

“What’s that?”

“That life isn’t won in the fast miles. It’s won in the hard ones.”

Marcus looked at him curiously.

Ed continued, “Anybody can run downhill with fresh legs. But when your body screams to quit and you keep going anyway—that’s where character shows up.”

Marcus stared at the ground.

“My wife left last month,” he admitted. “I honestly don’t know how to keep going.”

Ed leaned back in his chair.

“In a marathon,” he said, “you never focus on all twenty-six miles. You just look for the next step. Jesus works that way too. He doesn’t always give us the whole roadmap. Sometimes He just says, ‘Walk with Me to the next mile marker.’”

Marcus wiped his eyes.

That morning, Ed realized something.

He could no longer run races.

But he could still help weary people finish theirs.

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Running Shouldn’t Be Deadly

Ahmaud Arbery

Today, I remember Ahmaud Arbery.

On this day in 2020, he was tragically murdered while out for a run. Even years later, that truth sits heavy on my heart.

As a former runner myself, this tragedy hit me in a deeply personal way. Running, for many of us, is sacred space. It’s the rhythm of your feet hitting the pavement before the world wakes up. It’s lungs burning in the cold air. It’s the quiet stretch of road where your thoughts finally settle into place. Like me, I’m sure Mr. Arbery loved the feel of a great run—the steady stride, the challenge of a hill, the satisfaction of pushing through when your legs want to quit.

Maybe he had a running playlist like I used to -songs that flip a switch inside you, that give you that extra motivation when the miles get long. Maybe certain lyrics helped him dig deeper, find another gear. Or maybe he preferred silence. Maybe his runs were his time to pray, to think about his day, to sort through life one step at a time.

Running is freedom. Or at least, it’s supposed to be.

The one visible difference between Mr. Arbery and myself was the color of our skin. I’m a white guy. In all my days as a runner, I never worried about being followed. I never worried about someone questioning why I was in a particular neighborhood. I never feared the police trailing me for no reason. I never considered that a routine jog could end in violence.

That’s a privilege I didn’t earn. It’s simply something I was born into because of the color of my skin. 

Today, I think about Mr. Arbery’s family and friends—the empty chair at the table, the birthdays that feel incomplete, the runs that now carry grief instead of joy. I pray that the love of God surrounds them in ways that bring comfort beyond understanding.

I also think about my brothers and sisters of color as they lace up their shoes and head out the door. Something as simple as a run should not require courage. It should not require vigilance. It should not require a mental calculation of safety.

And yet, for many, it does.

So today my prayer is simple:

Dear God, protect  my brothers and sisters of color.
Allow them to have a wonderful run.
Let the miles strengthen their bodies and clear their minds.
And bring them safely back home to their families.

May we build a world where every runner—no matter their skin color—can experience the road as it was meant to be: open, freeing, and safe. ~OC

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The Race Called Life

Today’s a new day! During my running days, I was blessed to complete 350 marathons. Yes, you read that correctly. I can take no credit. It was all God pushing me through those marathons. People often ask me why I ran 350 marathons? I tell them I did not like the number 349.

It’s been a number of years since I was able to run based on my health issues. While I would have never considered myself a professional by any means, I like to think I learned a few things during my running days. Like how to stabilize my breathing (well, I did my best) and how to run at a steady pace. Once again I tried my best. Running is a lot like living the Christian life. We have many lessons to learn. I learned a lot of lessons during my running days that I have been able to apply to my Christian journey.

One of the first lessons you learn when you start running is that you need to have endurance. Whether you’re running a 5K or a 50 miler (yes, I did that), you need to train so that you can run at a steady pace and not get worn out quickly.

The Christian life requires endurance as well. Life can seem long and hard as Christians, especially in the midst of challenges. Many people have made the comparison that life is a marathon, not a sprint, and the same goes for the Christian life. As the writer of Hebrews says, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36).

When you’re running, especially long distances, you want to lay aside everything that could weigh you down so that you only have the essentials. Lightweight shoes and light breathable clothing. As a runner you need to find the perfect balance between bringing what is necessary and those things that would just weigh you down.

In the Christian life, we are called to lay aside what weighs us down—namely, sin and any idols in our lives. Hanging on to those idols can cause our faith to falter and stumble. Letting go of idols in our lives frees us to live a life that is dedicated to Jesus. As the writer of Hebrews says:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1–2)

As a runner, you come across trials and challenges. Whether that’s a heatwave, snowstorm, rainstorm, or injury, runners face challenges that impact their race. You can never predict these trials and instead you just have to take them as they come. But you cannot allow the obstacles in life to keep you from living the race God has designed just for you.

In the same way, as Christians we can face unexpected challenges and suffering. From a poor diagnosis, a lost relationship, a lost job or a broken family. This race called life can be difficult. But thankfully, we are being made perfect through the grace of God. As James writes in James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”

My prayer is that we will all run this race called life with endurance and receive the beautiful gift of eternal life. ~OC

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Never Give Up

Today’s a new day! I think most people do not like to be uncomfortable. Most people do not like the hard moments in life. Most people do not like to be burdened or inconvenienced. Yet, in the tough moments in life, God never calls us to give up. Instead, He calls us to keep on pushing and trusting Him, even in the most difficult moments.

As a former marathon runner and someone who has been walking through a crazy beautiful health journey for over twenty years, I am used to being uncomfortable. I am used to the hard moments in life.

As I have walked through the tough moments in life, here are a few lessons I have learned:

Never give up on your prayers.

Never give up on the people God has placed in your life.

Never give up on your dreams.

Never give up on yourself.

Never give up when you face hard times or failures.

Most importantly, never give up on God.

The beautiful thing about God and his amazing grace is that He never gives up on us. He calls us back even when we decide to stray away and do things on our own. God is always there waiting for us with open arms. Remember, every battle we will ever face was defeated on the cross when Jesus gave his life for us.

I am not sure what type of season you’re walking through at this moment. Maybe you have been praying the same prayers over and over for years, but they seem like they will never be answered. Don’t give up.

I want to encourage you to never limit God and put him in a nicely decorated box. Allow Him to work through you and never give in to those temptations to give up.

Looking back on all of my marathons, I am so glad I completed each of my races and never gave into the temptation to quit. Based on my health, those marathons were never easy on my body, but each taught me about overcoming and to never give up.

I believe our faith and life journey is like a marathon, it’s not promised to be easy, it’s going to be hard and full of twist and turns, but our finish line and reward in eternity is far greater than anything we could ever imagine.

So today, keep pushing, keep fighting and never give up. ~OC

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” ~2 Timothy 4:7

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The Race

Today’s a new day! As I continue to recover from my hospital stay, God is reminding me that He created me to be a marathoner, not a sprinter. But, I want to be a 100% now and not wait through the months of recovery. You would think after twenty-three years on this crazy beautiful health journey I would have that lesson memorized.

Throughout my entire life of playing and watching sports, some of the people I have had the most respect for are those athletes who have overcome tremendous hurdles. They work through an injury or trial in life and reach the highest levels in their respective sports.

I always loved running as a child, but never ran a marathon until after my cancer diagnosis. Even a Parkinson’s diagnosis could not keep me from running. However, as I continue to run this crazy beautiful health journey, I realize that it’s not a sprint, but a marathon. Along the path of the race, there will be many trials and tribulations that come along our way. In any sport, teams will face tough stretches where their teamwork will be tested, but it’s how they come out of those trials that determine whether or not they will be called “champions.”

As I ran my marathons, I would often experience fatigue. In the heavenly race, we can consider fatigue to be a temptation whether it is not praying every day or letting our Bible collect dust. We all face different types of temptations and at times, we succumb to those temptations. However, Jesus wants us to drink the living water and trust in Him at all times. In John 4:13-14, we read the following words from Jesus to the woman at the well:

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

With the exception of a few very talented runners, most people run a marathon to finish the race. As Christians, we are taught to run to the finish line or in other words, until God calls us home to be with Him. After you accept the invitation to run with Jesus, there is still training that we all need in order to fully experience all that God has in store for our lives.

Our spiritual training is something we all need to do 24/7/365 in order to run the race God has specifically designed for each of us. It takes a lot of effort to stay in our lanes and sometimes we run into a few hurdles along the way, but the goal we have to remember is ultimately receiving that heavenly reward when we come face-to-face with with Jesus in heaven.

Today, I encourage you to keep running the race God has planned for your life. While it may seem difficult at times and a shortcut might seem tempting, remember the heavenly reward that God has set before us once we finish the race. His Son ran the most grueling part of the race for us when He suffered and died on the cross for us, so that we can have eternal life and have a heavenly reward. I want to encourage you to keep spending time in God’s word each day. When we are equipped with the Gospel, we can withstand any test the enemy throws at us just like our Savior did in the wilderness (Matthew 4).

I want to encourage everyone to run this amazing race with me. My hope and prayer is that everyone comes into a beautiful and personal relationship with Jesus. So as I close out today’s writing, I want to share a little of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians that I believe, sums up my post pretty well.

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 3:12-14

Today, I encourage each of us to press on towards the ultimate goal. ~OC

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Lessons Along the Journey

Today’s a new day! As I spend the week in the hospital receiving treatments and recovering, I have been reflecting on my long health journey and many hospital stays. The lessons learned over the years are many. Here is one that came to my mind this week. ~OC

As I have run this crazy beautiful health journey, I have learned to set myself free from impossible expectations. To let go of my own agenda and not allow anyone to force their agenda’s on me. I have learned to let God do His thing while I learn to rest in Him. To lean into His promises and asked, “God what do you want me to learn from this health journey and how can you use me as I travel this road?”

The life lessons that God wants to teach us through the storms of life can be life-changing. Learning to release my own agenda was only the first lesson for me. I thought my plan was a good, even a God-honoring plan, but it turns out that God had a different plan. A plan that included chronic health issues. A plan for me to be a missionary at medical appointments and hospital visits. A plan that I never would have chosen for myself. But even in the pain and struggles of this health journey, I have learned a second lesson that I believe we would all be better off by learning.

The lesson is this: God is working everything out for our good in life, even when might not believe it or cannot see it.

Now, let me just say that this lesson is a hard one to believe when your life is filled with medical appointments, hospital stays and a crazy amount of pain. If you’re having a hard time believing it today as you read this, let me encourage you with the following words from God’s own heart:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” ~Romans 8:28

I confess that in some areas it has taken me years to see the good that God can bring out of a situation. Sometimes our heads must choose to trust when our hearts cannot muster up the courage to do so. And that brings me to the next lesson I have learned.

Sometimes, God allows us to experience broken bodies so that we can realize we have an even greater need—a broken heart. A broken heart that needs Him. If we will let Him, God wants to take our broken hearts, and pour His love in. That is part of the “good” that He wants to work for us in the scripture verse above. He wants to heal our brokenness, and in so doing, bring good out of it. And then, as only God can do, He wants to work through us to show a world of hurting and broken hearts that He can do the same for them. That is part of what He means when He says that we have been “called according to His purpose.”

God actually has a purpose for us. No matter how broken our lives feel, God has a purpose for each and every one of us. God can take broken people and use them for His greater purposes. All He needs from us is a willing heart.

Maybe you feel your life is too messed up for God to accept. The truth is, God desperately wants us to turn to Him in the middle of our big old mess and lift our hearts and lives to Him.

As I continue to run this health journey, I have learned that all God needs is a willing heart. Because if you are willing, even though you may feel like you are a mess, God will honor whatever faith you can muster, and take your brokenness and turn it into something truly beautiful.

So today, I pray the following for each of us:

Dear God, I pray that You will take our pain and brokenness and use it for Your good. I pray that You will use our “I can’t “ situations to show us what You can do and want to do in our lives. God, we thank you for hearing our prayers today. It’s in Your powerful and matchless name we pray. Amen.

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Timeless

Today’s a new day! Being a cancer survivor and dealing with multiple health issues forever changes your relationship with time. It seems to pass so quickly, and there’s always a question about how much of it you’re going to get. At times it can be overwhelming. But maybe that’s why I always loved running. A 5K, 13.1 or 26.2 run can feel timeless if you’re embracing every moment of the journey.

Before I had to quit running a number of years ago, running almost made me forget my health issues. As I continue running this crazy beautiful health journey, I realize time marches on whether we are ready or not. I am as ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go! ~OC

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