Three Angels Broadcasting Network Devotional. The Dog Race By Deborah Shaffer May 24th, 2026 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 Every morning, before going to work, I challenged my dog Buddy to a race; and even though he didn’t understand why, he eagerly joined right in. To be declared the winner, we had to finish the whole course—without cheating by turning around too early—and beat the other home. Now by looking at us, you could well see that since he was more fit than I was, and since he had four legs and I only had two, he was much more likely to come out victorious. But the truth is that I won every time! Why? Because the race is always won by focus and endurance. I never went off on rabbit trails (literally), and neither did I get sidetracked as easily as he did. Another factor that pushed me on was that I knew time was short, since I had to get back and get ready for work. My goal was clear, and unlike Buddy, I knew my mission. The same is true in our Christian life. Someone once said, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called,” and how true that really is. When God calls us into His kingdom and we become His children, He sets out His plan for us to accomplish. We may think that it’s too hard—and it truly would be, in our own strength. But when we accept His salvation, He places the Holy Spirit in our lives, equipping us to accomplish His divine plan. Our goal has been set and we must continue on letting our light shine so that others can see Jesus in and through us. In order to win, we must stay focused on this truth. We must endure all the obstacles we meet and call upon the strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome. Are we running out of steam? We can’t give up—the race is worth the pain. Let’s stay focused on the call of Christ and endure to the end. We will be home before we know it, then—and only then—will we have permission to retire our worn-out running shoes.