I don’t remember this hill being so steep, I thought to myself. I was running the road I took to work every day, but driving it and running it were two different critters. To make a long story short (not typical for me), I decided to run to where I had dropped my car off several days earlier. It was a repair to fix a repair. This was definitely falling into the category of “good initiative, bad judgement”!

I was still on active duty, so the approximate 10-mile distance didn’t faze me (today I’d be calling for an Uber). The first one-mile leg was a l-o-o-o-n-n-n-g-g, gradual uphill climb. When I reached the top of the hill and took a look down the length of El Camino Real, I came to a complete, out-of-breath stop. As far as I could see, there were about a gazillion hills ahead — up and down, up and down, up and down, all waiting to try me out!

You see, it wasn’t the hill I had just run that did me in. I was fine when I got to the top. I had done hills before. What did me in was that I looked at all of the other hills in front of me and I fainted in my mind! In Hebrews 12:3 (ESV), the author (speaking of Jesus) cautions his readers to “Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” I like the KJV, which says “lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” I wasn’t worn out by the hill I had just run — I was worn out by my mind running the hills I hadn’t even come to yet. I became wearied in my mind! If your mind tells you that you cannot do something, you’re not going to do it.

God gives us the strength to run our hills, figuratively speaking. As I stood there wondering how I could go on, God spoke to me, saying He would give me the strength for each hill when I came to it, but not before. God wants me in a place of total dependence upon Him, not on my ability. Every day we run our “daily hill” and the enemy wants us to look at the cares of tomorrow, and the rest of the week, and the week following. When I let all those worries and possibilities accumulate, I will become weary and faint in my mind.

Jesus gave us His prescription for that kind of anxiety.

“Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” —Matthew 6:31-34 (ESV)

Strength for the day is our “daily bread.” Like the manna that the children of Israel gathered daily (Exodus 16:16-21), it won’t last for the following day.

I’ve taught on this subject (running the race) several times, and it wasn’t until I was writing this that I realized the significance of El Camino Real. You see, it means “The King’s Highway,” and it is The King’s Highway we should be traveling on to get to our true destination.

Believe me when I say that it’s always going to be an uphill climb. At times it will seem like it is leveling out, and it may even appear that we are going downhill for a spell, but rest assured, my friend: You are going up to see The King!

If you’ve never heard the words of the song “Soon and Very Soon” (Andrae Crouch), the point may be lost on you. In our Christian “run,” we are always heading for “higher ground.” King Jesus has laid out His own unique highway for each of us — uniquely engineered to accomplish His plans and purposes for each individual life. On that uphill road, He gives us strength for each hill and for each day. I’m going up!

What say ye, Man of Valor?