The Hardest Part of The Race

I thought saying goodbye to the people we had grown close to over the month we spent with them was hard.

But I was wrong.

The hardest part of the race is having your closest friends go home.

They might be the ones who seemed born for the race. Who were the most excited to be here.

They could be the ones you last expect to go home.

But leaving the race early is not a failure.

It is also not the easy way out.

It’s actually the harder way.

And it’s not getting out of anything.

Instead, it’s stepping deeper into exactly what God has for you.

It is having the courage to do something very difficult.

It is knowing that God has a different direction for you than you thought, and having the faith to follow him, often based on that alone. It does not mean you understand completely if at all or that you are always happy about it. It often means acting on what God has told you, even when you don’t feel it.

It is having the courage to leave your new friends who care deeply about you, and having faith that you are not forgotten and that you are constantly in their thoughts and prayers. It’s having faith that your friendships will not end simply because you’re no longer physically present with them. It’s having faith that everything you invested in those friendships was not in vain. And that the most important ones will still be there.

It is having faith that you were here on The Race for this time for a reason, and that God somehow has something even better in store for you than you had imagined. Than you had planned.

You see, the race was never the answer for what you were seeking. God was. God works in people not because they are in one place or doing one thing, but he works in their hearts. And you are having the courage to follow him wherever he has called you.

You have each left a huge mark on ouR squad and could never be replaced. We have been immeasurably blessed by you and your friendship. You have brought so much to our squad and will always continue to. We are proud to call you a part of ouR squad always, as you seek out God all around the world.

Father,

I pray for my friends who have gone home. I pray that every day they will only grow more and more closer to you. I pray that you will give them your strength and faith to continue to trust you, even when it’s hard and even when they may not feel it.

I pray that they will be confident that you called them to the race for a specific time and that none of their time here was wasted. And that they will be sure that leaving early is not a failure, but instead it is stepping deeper into exactly what you have for them.

If anything, it’s obvious that they have your anointing all over them. You have called and created them to do great things. You have worked and are continuing to work miracles in their lives.

I pray that there will never be a moment where they do not know you. I pray against any barriers or walls that they may feel go up, and instead I ask you to show your face to them as they seek you. I thank you that you promise that when we seek you we will find you. I ask that you provide good communities for them to go into, and grow deep friendships where they are now.

I pray that you show them purpose for where they are now. I pray that you will guide and direct their steps. I pray that you will show our squad how to pray for them and support them, even when they are far away.

I praise you that your purposes are far greater than ours, far greater than anything we can understand. I trust that you have placed every one of us exactly where we are for a reason. I pray you reveal that reason to us as we wait on you.

I pray all of these things in Jesus’s name.

Amen.