Come Forth as Gold

Everyone knows the story of Job and how God tested him with some pretty serious stuff. Though at times Job questioned why everything was happening to him, he never really lost sight that God was in control. After Job was tested and was proven faithful, God granted him more than he had ever had.

On the morning of July 14, 2002, I entered the track at the University of Texas El Paso, a rather prestigious place to run. Though this was the regional meet and I should have been nervous beyond belief, something was making me feel at ease. When I saw my coach, I saw my own feelings reflected. He told me something that he had never shared with me before. He said that every morning when he woke up, he drew a Scripture verse out of a jar; and that particular morning, he had drawn Job 23:10. I had never seen that verse before, but God had something in store for me.

As my race (1,500m) drew closer, I pondered the verse more and more. Finally, as we were leaving the staging tent and heading onto the track, I began to pray. I thanked God for introducing me to that verse on that day of all days, and I knew then that God gave me the talent of running for a reason. I asked Him to allow me to show His strength through the gift that He had given me; then I put the race in His hands. In the end, I did "come forth as gold" and actually set a region record!

Reliance on the Lord allowed me to run the best race of my life. But what I learned was that it wasn't really my race at all. It was His.