Have You Ever Run a Three-legged Race?

I grew up in the countryside of South Africa and I have fond memories of our Methodist Sunday School picnics. They were usually held on a level piece of ground near to a river. We needed the level ground for all the races that were an integral part of the fun - the sack race; egg and spoon race and of course – the three- legged race.

My eight-year-old granddaughter visited us this week and, as we were walking along to the shops, she was trying to keep in step with me, and that caused all these memories to come flooding back. As I adjusted my stride to hers, I got to thinking about our ‘walk’ with the Lord. How ‘in-step’ with Jesus are we?

I love the first part of the verse: ‘Draw me after You’. No-one comes to the Father unless the Son draws him. Thankfully, once we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour of our lives, He constantly ‘draws’ us to go deeper with Him. It is up to us to respond and to get in-step with Him. This sounds so obvious, but it can be tricky. It is all too easy to run ahead of Him when we badly want something or a situation to go our way. It can be just as difficult to step out boldly when we want to procrastinate, or are fearful.

How does this relate to where we find ourselves right now in the midst of this worldwide pandemic?

I do not want to make light of the situations we are currently facing. However, the one constant that we have in the midst of all this is the faithfulness of God and His unchanging character and His Word.

We are told in Isaiah 8:12, “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it”.

How can we put this into practice? I believe that the only way we can apply this in every situation of our lives is to be ‘in-step’ with Him. Being in-step with someone is more than adjusting our pace. It means knowing when to walk and when to stop, or when to veer to the left or the right. It is hearing that small voice saying, “This is the path – walk in it.” We get to this place by spending time with Him, learning His ways and learning to trust His leading. The intimacy which grows from this practice is invaluable. It is like finding that pearl of great price!

Prayer: Jesus, thank You that You are constantly wooing and drawing us to go deeper with You. Please show each one of us where we are out of step with You. We want to ‘run’ with You, so that we no longer need to fear or be in dread of what is going on in the world today, but also so that we can enjoy the abundant life You came to give us and so that You may be glorified. In Jesus’ name, Amen.