Today I would like to speak a little about the Daytona 500 NASCAR race. I’m not a big NASCAR enthusiast, just a casual fan. The Daytona 500 is one of the… if not the biggest race of the season. It’s a very prestigious win for both driver and sponsor. As I was watching the Daytona 500 race, it occurred to me how our lives and racing were very similar in many ways.
First – just as the Daytona 500 drivers set the goal of winning the race and crossing the Finish Line. Our lives are very similar in that we set our lives goals and hope to cross the finish line.
At the start of the race, the race car drivers wait for a drop of a green flag which signals go. There’s many other drivers competing for the same thing and having the same goals. Just as in life, we start a race among many people with similar goals and ambitions. Hoping to realize our goals before they do. I guess we refer to this race as the rat race.
The driver speeds away running around this track and the next thing you know they’re back where they started from. They’re driving in circles. Each circle completed gets them closer to their final goal. As in life, it often seems that we are running around in circles. Passing the same places up time after time. We look around… it seems that we haven’t made any progress because we’re back where we started from. But we have made progress, you’ve learned and now have experience driving the track. We progress toward our goal of crossing the finish line.
Race car drivers have a race manager that communicates with them via radio. The race manager has an overview and sees the whole race track whereas the drivers can only see what’s ahead of them. The drivers can hear their race managers’ voice in their ears by a speaker in their helmet. The race manager gives them updates on track conditions, maybe how to avoid the wreck up a head, or maybe how to get the best performance from their car. The race car driver, as he’s running the race, can ask his manager for advice about things ahead of him. With the advice of his race manager the driver can take the proper course of action. Just as in life, as we’re running the rat race, we have a race Manager that speaks to us and directs us to take the proper path. Our race Manager is God. God sees the big picture of our race, where we only see what is immediately ahead of us. As we are running the rat race God directs us around obstacles in our life. As long as we follow our race Manager’s advice, we remain safe and in the race.
At any NASCAR race there comes a time where the car needs to be serviced and refueled. Sometimes they add tires and make adjustments to the car so it will run better. These are called pit stops. Just like in life, as we’re running the rat race, there comes a time that we need a pit stop. We need to be refueled. Maybe new tires for better traction in our life. Or how about some adjustments in our life to run a better race. So our race Manager tells us to make a pit stop to be renewed. Most of the renewals, for us, start at church, a great place to get refueled and recharge to take on the next part of the rat race. Just as in NASCAR, we have to do this multiple times to complete the race.
So the drivers, with a full tank of gas, some new tires on the car, and adjustments made in the pit stop continues the race. As the laps countdown, and we pass that familiar start line again. We see them waving a white flag meaning there is only one lap left. In this year’s Daytona 500, coming around that last corner of that last lap… Driver Ryan Newman was in the lead, Now within sight of the finish line there was a small bump on his rear bumper. His car then slides into a wall. The car was then flipped over on its roof and was sliding upside down. All of a sudden another car hits him again flipping the car over again and again until it slid to a halt. Ryan Newman could see the finish line but he never crossed it.
I compare this to our lives in this way. We are coming around that last corner and see the finish line. With God’s help we have ran a good hard race. Now there it is, we see the goal… the finish line. It’s at that time we feel we have it all under control. Everything is going well. I don’t need my race Manager any more. So we stop listening to God and take complete control. I can make it by myself… I don’t need any help, we say. All of a sudden there’s a tap from behind. We lose control of our lives and run into a wall… crash! Our lives are flipped over on its roof and everything is now upside down. As we are sliding upside down, something else hits us and flips us over and over again until we finally slide to a halt. We then reach for the radio to call for our race Manager, but the radio is not working. The Good news is the Race Manager (God) saw your crash and already has help on the way. Before the help arrives and you’re laying in your crashed life, you think… The finish was just ahead. What went wrong? Then we ask Why God, did you let me crash? Why God, did you let this happen? Why me God? Why God?
We tend to blame God for the things that have happened to us. It’s always easier to point a finger and blame someone or even God when things go bad. What we really need to do is take a close look at our life and our relationship with God. In this race we took control and forgot about God. The Result was a crash.
My question to you is, have you hit the wall in the rat race of life? We all have crashed from time to time. The good news is God is there to pick up all the pieces! It doesn’t matter how big, or small, or how many pieces there are… God can fix them all. It’s by the grace of God, we can find forgiveness, guidance, happiness, and love.
My friend be assured of this, Jesus is your race Manager and He is listening for you every second of the day. His race radio is always on. If you lost communications with God, or maybe never had a personal relationship with Jesus, my friend, there is No Better Time than now to establish communications with God. All you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your life. It’s just that simple, and It doesn’t cost a thing. In 1 John 1:9 it says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Please ask God to become your race Manager! I Pray we all may be able to say “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
May God Bless!
I thank you for reading my blog. I do not claim to be any expert or affiliated with any religious organization. All I can say is that I’m affiliated with my Lord Jesus Christ. This is one man’s opinion and observation. My hope is I stirred up some thoughts for you to think about. There is one place that we can find all the answers to life. That road map is Commonly known as the Bible. If you want the answers to life all you have to do is read. If you would like me to pray with you or want to send a comment please email me at Bob.L@magnificentpromises.com or the form below.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
