Running my race

What do you have to fight for?
Everything.
My fight isn't for a person, or a career, or a family, or a house, or a bank account, or a husband, or kids or a dream.... it is for the glory of God.
And that is my everything.

It would be easy to want to give up now, to give in to defeat, but how would that possibly glorify God? He has given me healing. He has promised me restoration of my body. I'm not quitting. I'm going to forge ahead knowing that he has already paved the way for me. He has already laid claim to the victory.
He sees the finish line ahead - the red ribbon of victory is tied tight, just waiting for me to run through it with arms held high and legs moving full steam ahead. The red tape isn't the end. It is just the beginning. It is my opening to break out into a life that God has been preparing me for.
This race is worth giving my everything. I will smile past the awkward glances, love the face I see in the mirror, lift weights that feel like too much and run through pain. Because God is equipping this body and this spirit for great things. Little as I am, I can do much when God is propelling me forward, working in the midst of my weakness. This is where I can glorify him. This little, weak, scrawny body is going to show just how great and mighty God is.
If I were strong, where would the glory for God be? If I never had a struggle how could God use my very physical body to be a testimony to him?
My pain is for his glory. My low weight, that is soon to give way to a healthy and perfect weight, is going to bring God glory. This victory is his. Through the saving grace of his Son he has rescued and restored my spirit, now my physical body will experience the same redemption.
This fight isn't for me and it isn't mine. It is God's and it is for the magnification and glorification of his kingdom. It is to show a lost world a truly great God.
I can't give up now. I won't give up now. I have a reassuring peace that is flowing through me like a raging tide bolstering my spirit and propelling me forward in perseverance. The victory is already won. The outcome of the battle is already determined.
God is the victor. He reigns as master over my struggle. He is there with me, running this race, cheering me on all the while.
Can I see the finish line up ahead? Can I see where this first marathon ends and training for the next begins? No, I don't have a clue. But I'm not looking for the finish line. I'm looking to my running partner. He is always one step ahead, encouraging me to run harder, with a bigger smile and a louder song flowing from my lips.