In this week’s Geek Devotions, guest host Drew from The Cel Cast Podcast takes the wheel for a powerful and geeky devotional inspired by Mario Kart World and Hebrews 12:1–2. Life can feel like a chaotic race, full of red shells, detours, and moments where we just want to give up. But what if the goal isn’t to come in first… but simply to finish the race?

Drew explores what it means to keep moving forward in your faith, even when you stumble, and reminds us that we’re not running alone, there’s a crowd cheering you on, and Jesus already crossed the finish line to make a way for you.

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Life can hit hard sometimes. One moment you’re cruising along, and the next…

BAM!

You’re spinning out, wondering if you’re even going to make it. This week on Geek Devotions, Drew from The Cel Cast jumps in as guest host to explore that very feeling… and how Mario Kart World surprisingly ties into it.

If you haven’t played it yet, Mario Kart World’s big feature is the Knockout Tour, a connected series of chaotic races where you start with 24 players and get eliminated if you don’t place high enough at each checkpoint. It’s fun. It’s frantic. And it’s frustrating when things don’t go your way.

But that frustration? That chaos? That’s life.

And the question becomes:

What do you do when you’re not in first? What do you do when you’ve been knocked around and are tempted to quit?

Drew ties it all back to Hebrews 12:1–2:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Just like the Knockout Tour, the Christian life is a race. But here’s the difference: we’re not trying to beat each other. The goal isn’t first place. The goal is endurance. The win comes simply by crossing the finish line, by staying in it, even after you’ve been hit.

And you’re not running alone. Just like the cheering Toads and Shy Guys hidden in the background of each Mario Kart course, there’s a crowd of believers around you, in your life, in history, all rooting for you to keep going. You may not always see them, but you’re not in this by yourself.

There will be crashes. There will be setbacks. There will be times you’re the one stumbling across the track while others fly past. But you’re still in the race. And through Jesus, the one who finished it first, you’ve already got what you need to keep moving.

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So here’s the challenge: How’s your race going?

Are you gaining speed? Struggling to recover? Sitting at the starting line not even sure you want to begin?

Wherever you are, just know, it’s not about being perfect. It’s not about being the best. It’s about finishing. One step, one lap, one restart at a time.