Have You Been Dissed Lately?

By Cyndi

                Have you been “dissed” lately? You know-disappointed, disillusioned, discouraged, or disheartened? These days there are many reasons to be described by such large vocabulary words; but for me, on a personal level, I’ve gotten discouraged with my running.

                In March, I ran a great 15K race. I ran great, felt great, finished great, everything was great. I rested for a week, and then went back to running again. I knew better than to keep the same pace and level of running that I had been at, so I tried to ease back in slowly. But after just a few weeks, I hit this wall of pain. It seemed like my legs were sore all over. At night, they’d be hurting when I went to bed. In the morning, they were hurting when I woke up. All day, every muscle seemed to be in some sort of pain.

                I tried running through the achiness, thinking, once I got warmed up, the pain would go away. This worked for several runs, but finally the day came where I ran for only two miles and the agony was too much. My running form was suffering badly and I had to completely stop. I had been in anguish when I’d started, and I almost collapsed when I had finished. It was time to cease from running for a while and rest my body. How discouraging! I’d gotten bit by the running bug and almost felt addicted. (You runners understand, don’t you?) And now I had to stop. I was so disappointed.

                So the Lord brought me to the verses about the children of Israel going in to their promised land. When the Israelites left Egypt to go to the land God had promised them, they ran into one obstacle after another during their travels-the Red Sea, no water, multiple enemies in the land they would have to expel out, just to name a few. It was a long journey and scriptures record that “the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way” (Numbers 21:4).

                This was how I felt about running. In some ways, we all can get discouraged or dismayed by things that happen in our lives. Jesus even warned us that this was a normal part of living. “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows,” He said (John 16:33); but later, in this same verse, He states that He has overcome the world, and all the disappointment it brings.  

                And not only has He prevailed over those “disses”, but He has made us winners and conquerors too. Paul wrote, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ” (Romans 8:37). Now we’re talking some encouragement here! No matter what obstacles I’m faced with-a job loss, a health problem, a financial crisis-God has promised to bring me to success. Sometimes that may mean I need to stop and rest for a while-to convalesce in His love and be strengthened-before I can “hit the pavement” again, but victory is attainable.   

                I know this is true because I started running again this week. I’m taking it slow and not very far, but at least I’m running. Over this last week I’ve gotten rested, rejuvenated, revived, and reinvigorated. It is so much better than being “dissed.”