Finish the Race

In 2009, I ran my first (and only) 1/2 marathon.  It was the Shamrock 1/2  Marathon in Virginia Beach, and it felt amazing!  My family had positioned themselves all along the course, riding their bikes beside me, even running beside me as I neared the finish line, just to let me know that I COULD FINISH!  

Up unto that point, I had never ran 13.2 miles.  The farthest I had run was 11 miles - once.  I had been training for a few months, through the cold winter months and even through the snow.  I had a goal in mind.  Finish the race!

I can’t lie and say it was easy. It was SO HARD!  But the thing that kept me going was that I had made a commitment to do it.  Point blank.  My family had made plans to support me.  I would feel bad to let them down…

This just shows how much we need others to help us along our journey. We need accountability for our actions.  We need our Christian sisters and brothers to be there for us when we fall and to be there to help us finish the race!

Hebrews 12:1-2a says it this way:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Did you read that?  We just need to fix our eyes on JESUS! He’s not only at the finish line, but He’s running the race ride beside us - never leaving us, even when we fall.  But we need our support team, the great cloud of witnesses, our Christian brothers and sisters, to surround us and cheer us on!! Keep on going…

But wait! It’s a hard road.  We get tired.  Why put ourselves through all this hardship and suffering?  What’s at the end - the finish line?  1 Corinthians 9: 24-25 says:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Oh, YES!!!!  Glory to God!  We run to get the prize, a crown that lasts  forever. Not just a nice shiny medal around our necks, but an everlasting prize.  But we must “run in such a way” that we can get it.  We need discipline. We must go into “strict training.”  

Yes, you can exercise regularly and eat all the right foods, but this kind of training is not what Paul was referring to.  This discipline can only be found through a daily feast on the Word and time in prayer.  We have to go deep.  We have to want it way down in our souls.  In doing so, we have the self-control to wait and see what the Lord would have us do (or not do). Yes, put that cookie down!

It’s been a long time since that race in 2009.  I’ve had some health battles and now I am back on the journey to wellness.  My physical training is starting over from the beginning, but my spiritual training is well under way.  I pray that at the end of my journey, I want to be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7.