Our faith and NASCAR – ok, this may seem like a stretch, but hang with me here a minute.  There really is a point to this.  I have been a race fan, specifically NASCAR, since I was a little girl.  My daddy raised me right – he raised me on NASCAR!  So of course I was watching the latest Atlanta Motor Speedway Race when an interesting fact emerged.  Star driver, Brad Keselowski and his wife, had both come down with a terrible stomach flu which kept him out of a lot of track practice.  He had to have IV fluids BUT he ran the race anyway even without a bathroom in the car!  AND, he won.

The author of Hebrews says, “let us run with endurance the race set out for us.”  That made me think…how many times have I “called in sick” on my Christian race?  Let’s face it, there are some days when we don’t feel like responding with kindness and forgiveness to someone that hurts us.  Sometimes, we don’t feel like we “have time” to explain the hope we have inside us. 

But before we all hop on the guilt train of self-reliance, what is the very next verse?  It’s our IV fluid…”fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” 

We can’t run this race alone and expect to endure.  Pardon the NASCAR pun but I’m going for it – we have to have strategic pit stops – help from the Holy Spirit, fellowship with other believers, and Biblically sound teaching to “run with endurance.”