Go Run a Mile!!!

If you know me, you know I enjoy a good movie. I like a movie with a strong story, good characters, memorable scenes, and a line that sticks with you long after the credits roll. One of those movies is Remember the Titans. Denzel Washington played Coach Boone, and if you have seen the movie, you already know he was not playing with those players. He was disciplined, focused, intense, and determined to build that team into something better. There is a scene where Coach Boone makes it very clear what the standard is. Drop a pass? You run a mile. Miss a blocking assignment? You run a mile. Fumble the football? Well… let’s just say he had some extra encouragement for that one, and then you still run a mile. The goal was perfection.

Now, I do not know about you, but after about the second mile, I would have been asking the Lord for strength, wisdom, endurance, and possibly a ride back to the dorm. But the point was clear. When something went wrong, they had to run. That got me thinking about life. Because life has a way of making us run too. We run when we are overwhelmed. We run when we are hurt. We run when we are afraid. We run when we are disappointed. We run when we feel like we messed up. But the question is not just whether we run. The question is: where are we running?

Some people run to isolation. Some run to anger. Some run to distractions. Some run to old habits. Some run to overthinking. Some run to people who cannot truly carry what they are bringing. And if we are honest, some of us have run everywhere except to the Heavenly Father. But Psalm 55:22 (NIV) gives us a better place to run. It says, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” That verse is not telling us to pretend we do not have cares. It says to cast them. That means bring them. Release them. Hand them over. Stop trying to carry what God already invited you to give Him. Cast your cares on the Lord.

Why?

Because He will sustain you. That means the Heavenly Father does not just hear what we bring. He helps carry us through it. There is a difference between being seen and being sustained. People may see that you are tired, but God can sustain you when you are tired. People may notice that you are stressed, but God can sustain you through the stress. People may sympathize with your burden, but God can carry what is too heavy for you. And that is good news, because there are some things we were never meant to carry by ourselves. The hurt was too heavy. The worry was too much. The pressure was too constant. The fear was too loud. The disappointment was too deep. And the whole time, the Heavenly Father was not saying, “Toughen up and figure it out.” He was saying, “Cast it on Me.”

So maybe the reminder today is simple. Run. But run the right way. Do not run from God because you are tired. Run to Him. Do not run from prayer because you are frustrated. Run to Him. Do not run from His presence because you feel like you failed. Run to Him. Do not run to everything else first and then bring God what is left. Run to Him first.

Coach Boone made those players run because he was building discipline. The Heavenly Father invites us to run to Him because He is building trust. And unlike running a mile as punishment, running to God is not about shame. It is about surrender. It is about relief. It is about remembering that we have a Father who can handle the weight we cannot. So if life has you running today, pause for a moment and ask yourself, “Where am I running?” Because the safest place to run is not away from God. It is straight into His presence.

Next Step

Reflect on an area of your life where you have been carrying stress, worry, hurt, or pressure by yourself. Consider where you have been running when that burden feels heavy. Invite Lord Jesus to meet you in that place and teach you how to cast your cares on the Heavenly Father. Ask Him to help you run toward God’s presence instead of running toward fear, frustration, or old habits. When life makes you feel like running, run to the One who can sustain you.

God bless you, God keep you. God loves you and I love you too!