The race marked out for them

“Since we have such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1 NIV

I have this verse tattooed on my arms. It became my life verse during a struggle with autism and was confirmed as my life verse in our struggle with the death of our daughter. It has given me a great deal of peace with what can seem like a daunting fight with a significant foe. It has helped me realize that the verse was not written by my enemy. It was written to believers. The race is not random at all. It is marked out for me, and for my family. You have one marked out for you too.

We have a set of friends in a dogfight. Cancer has returned and it seems daunting. They have beaten it before. Any time you line up to start a race, you do not expect easy victory. A race can be tiring, even exhausting. It makes victory sweeter. I heard today that some human being beat the world record for a 10,000-meter race by 10 seconds, running the course in under 30 minutes. I ran 5,000 meters once in just under 30 minutes after training for a year. In a race he would have beaten me by over 3 miles.

But even the best ever looked exhausted during the race. Our friends will too. I am writing about it because I do not know what else to do. I feel helpless. I pray. I still feel helpless. I think of details that I know they are thinking about. They have three sons, none of whom have any concept of either the fight their parents have already fought or the one they are getting ready to fight again. I say they because it is truly about both of them. Treatment will be administered to one, but the fight is for both of them.

What I want to do is enlist your help. You do not have to know them to pray for them. I wrote recently about whether or not prayer can change God’s mind. I guess I have reasoned that He has both the authority and the autonomy to not need my input. But I want to over pray as opposed to under pray if that makes any sense.

So pick your topic: treatment plan, skill of the doctors, effectiveness of the medication, healing, energy, resolve, unity as a couple, unity as a family, worry about kids, finances, jobs, faith, hope, frustration over having to do it again, assumptions – which are almost always negative but can be positive, feeling God’s love, peace and any other topic you would worry about if it was you – make it rain prayer.

Predators isolate victims. After Jordyn died my wife and I could feel prayer. People surrounded us. I want to surround them. I do not understand why there is so much suffering. It is almost never “deserved”. They do not deserve this. No one does. I also do not know why there is so much grace. It is never deserved. No one has ever earned it. I am asking God to unleash it. Would you help please.

What is the foe you are facing?

Have you asked for prayer or emotional help? If not…

Challenge: Ask. People have trouble letting each other in on our needs. God sent a cloud of witnesses. Let’s get to work.

Rick Claiborn