Keep Running, Don’t Stop

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

Keep running; it is not over yet! This should have been my mantra when I was running marathons. I needed that mantra because the elite runners had already collected their medals, showered, and were heading to the next race as I came into view of the finish line. I may never have finished first, but I was never last.

I am so thankful for runners like Shizo Kanakuri, who make my 4-plus hours look pretty good. Kanakuri finished the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds, beating my records. Kanakuri holds the Guinness World Record for the slowest time in any Olympic marathon and will likely hold it for many years.

He started the race on July 14, 1912, and crossed the finish line on March 20, 1967, at age 75. During those years, Sweden listed him as missing, and a legend was born.

So where did he go? The race day was hot; only 34 of the 68 runners finished. Kanakuri became disoriented, stopped at a Swedish family’s house, and fell asleep from heat exhaustion. When he woke up, the race was over, and embarrassed by his failure, he silently returned to Japan without notifying race officials.

Kanakuri turned his failure into a new story. The next day, he wrote in his journal, “It’s the morning after my defeat. My heart is aching with regret for the rest of my life. It was the most significant day of my life. But failure teaches success, and I can only wait for the day with fair weather after the rain so that I can clean up my shame.” (Katja Vujic, Runner’s World).

 He chose to tell his story in ways that would make a difference. For the next fifty years, he kept training, ran other Olympic races, taught other long-distance runners, and finally finished the race he started in 1912. When interviewed at the end of the race, he simply said, “It was a long trip. Along the way, I got married, had six children, and ten grandchildren.”

Failure is not, and has never been, God’s plan for us. “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” Proverbs 24:16 NLT.

“We all have our time machines, don’t we? Those that take us back are memories…And those that carry us forward are dreams.” (H.G. Wells)

Finding your new story after failure is a recurring theme in Scripture. We read the stories of those who got lost along the way, only to see God’s hand editing and rewriting their story. These are stories of second chances, and occasionally even more. They are stories woven through with God’s grace and concern for us. If you stop at failure, you will not find redemption. Failure will become the mark of life, which is not the way God intended.

Failure forces us to look within and ask who we are and what we can do now. It is easier to stay hidden, yet in those times God’s word becomes critical to our story. “Do not trust what you feel, but rather trust what God says about you. Hold to God’s declaration over you.” (Robby Dawkins). God has no illusions that we will not fail, but He will be there to pick us up. “The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 37: 23-24)

Peter, who became a patriarch of the early church, failed miserably by denying Jesus three times. He was so devastated that he went into hiding and could have remained a failure, but the very one he denied restored him (John 21:15-17). Jesus took his brokenness and rewrote his story: “Feed my Sheep.”

David, who became known as a man after God’s own heart, failed morally, ethically, and legally by committing adultery, murder, and an attempted cover-up. God used Nathan to help David rewrite his story of failure. (2 Sam 12).

Adam had it all until he wanted more and failed because of disobedience and deception. All would have been lost for him except that “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). God took him and Eve to help them rewrite their broken stories of failure.

John Mark’s story would have been that of a deserter and a failure if not for Barnabas, who helped him rewrite it. “Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him because he had deserted them in Pamphylia…They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus…” (Acts 15:37-39). Later in life, Paul wrote Timothy asking for John Mark.

“God is the God of second chances—it’s never too late to be who you might have been. And God can resurrect opportunity like He can everything else. But every opportunity has a shelf life—some shorter than others.” (Mark Batterson)

God is the ultimate author of our stories. Others may see failure, but not God when we give Him the pen to write it. I am grateful that he never gave up on me, nor will He on you. He keeps writing and rewriting, even if it takes 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds!

God is great!