13.1 Miles of God

I started as runner #4812, ready to rock this race. As the announcer yelled, "Go," I glanced at the verse written on my forearm. I said a quick little prayer and started this race that our team had been training for in the past few months.

Everything seemed fine until mile 5, when I started getting sharp pains in my right rib. At one point, it hurt so bad that I didn't know if I could go on for 7 more miles. While I reflected on God and begged Him to take the pain away, I was reminded of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away a thorn in his flesh that tormented him, but God replied, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Although that thorn was not removed, Paul goes on to say, "for when I am weak, then I am strong," because Christ's power rests on him.

I started to really appreciate God. It felt so real, and even though I was somewhat disheartened by my physical status, I was more strengthened by my Christ. From mile 5 onwards, it felt like a big physical battle for me to finish the race, but it was spiritually uplifting.

A fellow brother and I ran and prayed together as we kept reminding each other about God. This brotherhood kept me strong because we would affirm each other and affirm Christ whenever one of us felt weak. It all started to make sense to me why Jesus always sent 2 disciples to do great things (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1).

At mile 7, I really started to feel bad. In addition to the pain in my right rib, I started to cramp in my left calf. Every now and then, it would pull very tightly and I would yell out in pain. And almost everytime it happened, I would look at the verse written on my arm:

"The Sovereign Lord is my Strength
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
He enables me to tread on the heights" - Habbakuk 3:19

By mile 8, I was stopping at every fluid station (not planned at all), drinking gatorade and pouring water over myself, walking for 10 seconds and then running again. Everytime my leg cramped, it felt like a jab to my spirit. What if the next time I cramp it does not loosen? But as my brother in Christ prayed out loud for us, I kept being reminded about the power in Christ. "For when I am weak, then I am strong"

The next 5 miles was difficult, but bearable. It's funny, because we could not see the finish line, but at the same time, we both knew exactly what our finish line looked like. In Hebrews 12, we are told to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. ... Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." At the end, we kept reminding ourselves, this race was for God and that we would fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith :-). Jesus would be our finish line.

As we approached the finish line, we said out loud, "This is for you God," raised our hands up together, and crossed the line.

(We're on the middle left) :-)

Now that I'm reflecting on this race, I think God is telling me, "Thanks for trying to run this race for me, but really, this was for you Young, because now I hope you understand how much I can carry you, how much I can love you, and how I am there for you. I hope you understand that this life you will live for me is difficult, and how much you have to rely on me to get through it. Now, Young, I know that you know me much better."

Believe in Someone

There are very few moments in life where you go, "Wow, that's a life-changer." I remember one that happened back in 2004.

My brother and I were at our church youth group and somehow, we started talking about our dream colleges. When my brother said that he wanted to go to UCLA, an older guy laughed at him and said something along the lines of, "HAH yea right. Good luck. It's ridiculously hard to get in from out of state. Even my smartest friends can't get in."

I remember thinking, Wow, he must be right. If all of his smartest friends can't get in, how can my brother get in? But my teacher butted in, "Cho can get into UCLA, sure thing."

The older guy replied back with a smirk, "I'll bet you $100 that he can't."
Without hesitation, my teacher said in a cool voice, "Okay. I'll bet you $100 that he can."

I remember being absolutely shocked. My teacher believed in my brother so much that he was willing to bet $100 on him, on the spot, without even asking Cho about his grades! He had only known Cho for less than a year...

Two years later, in 2006, Cho was accepted into UCLA :-).
I'm left wondering - did my teacher's belief in Cho help him achieve his dream? Did he go home and pray for Cho every week? Whatever it was, it made me realize the power of belief in others.


So the question today is, who do you believe in?