Finishing The Race Of Faith

Finishing The Race Of Faith

Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. –Hebrews 12:1

As we watched the summer Olympics on television, I could almost feel the anguish of the marathon runner who was overcome with exhaustion and emotion after another runner overtook her for the third place position. She slowed down and became disoriented and finally sat down by the side of the road, unable to make it across the finish line. My heart broke for her as I thought about all of her preparation and her inability to persevere to the end.

What a disappointment if that is what happens to us as we run the race of faith God has set before us! We don’t want to be disqualified; we want to finish the race. But if you want to run the race, first you have to choose to enter the race. You can’t sit on the sidelines and watch others run. You can’t just listen to the radio or sit in the pew and hear about other people who are running. You have to decide that you don’t want to stay where you are, just as you are, doing what you’re doing, but that you want to enter the race.

Running the race will require energy. God himself supplies the energy as you run your race of faith toward him. As you feed on the fuel of his Word and as the Holy Spirit blows the wind at your back and fills your lungs with his very breath, you are empowered to run and keep running.

Completing the race requires perseverance, a steady determination to keep going. Many people start the Christian life with great vigor and then give up when it becomes difficult. But if you want to complete your race well, you have to keep going, even when you’re tired, even when you’re not sure what the road ahead will take you through.

Sometimes this race will be very lonely. Sometimes you will wonder why more people are not running with you. Don’t think that something is wrong. Jesus said, “The gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:14). Many people around us are running races of good works or religiosity, but they aren’t running the race of faith.

We each have to run the race that is set before us. I may not be able to run the course your race takes you on, and you may not be able to run mine, but we can both finish the course God has marked out for us. Some of us might sprint and some of us might plod; we all must persevere.

My enduring Energy, some days I just want to sit down and give up. Fill me with your energy and endurance, and keep me moving toward you.

DIGGING DEEPER