I want to talk to you about your race.
You may be thinking, “A race? Are you kidding? I can barely stand on my own two feet. I’m so out of shape, I’m practically at a spiritual standstill. And sometimes, I fear I might even be going backwards.”
Discouragement can be debilitating—believe me, I know. We might call it “losing heart,” or “losing the will to go on.” Whatever we call it, it isn’t good. But you already knew that.
I know you have had some hard times in your life. There have been things that are without explanation as to why God would even allow them.
And you’ve lost some faith along the way.
Honestly, it can happen to most anyone. But if it’s happening to you, it can be a very unsettling experience. Or it might be much worse.
Maybe you’re no longer feeling much of anything, and thoughts of your Lord barely interest you at all. You might have settled in to a church somewhere, with plans of just being a bystander—certainly not a participant.
But deep down in your heart, you know that this is not who you are—and most importantly, not who God has called you to be.
Okay—maybe I’ve really nailed it, or maybe I’ve missed you by a mile. But whatever the reasons really are, it seems you’ve been put out of commission. And your spiritual life is at a low point. So let’s take it from there.
It appears that we are living our lives in the very last days before the soon return of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. This is an exciting time for us. But it is also fraught with distractions and disappointments. Misunderstandings and failed relationships. Tragedy and sorrow.
But these are the days that our Lord has chosen for us to live within. We were purposely created for such a time as this. And we can be assured that He is pulling for us, every step of the way.
And what about those steps of yours—upon your way? Are you taking them? Are you making them count for Christ?
Are you stuck? Shackled? Are you at a standstill or frozen in time? Without a doubt, you’ve got to come out of it. Because stagnation will ultimately kill the spiritual life.
But that’s not going to be you. You’re not going down without a fight.
To start, you’ll need to remember—and declare—who you are in Christ. Not just what others have told you, or someone you thought you might be. But what the Bible actually says, as to who you are.
You are a long-distance runner, in a race for Christ. And you have been entered into this race to win.
A race you must win? Can we be sure? Yes. Very sure. God’s word is clear. And you must be very sure of this as well.
You need to be sure enough to be shaken out of your shackles, and set free from your defeat. Not because you’re necessarily anything. You don’t need to be—your Lord is everything you will need.
But you are going to have to focus on Him so He can pull you back up, onto the main road. Your road—that is rightfully yours to run upon.
Soon, your enemies (the devil and his angels) will become alarmed. They should be. Because you are about to take your rightful place. And they will certainly have to face you, and the authority of He who lives within you.
This, my friend, is the race. Discovering what the Bible says about all of this is essential.
Because honestly, most of us need a second chance at winning.
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1)
The Apostle Paul had an amazing revelation about the struggle of life, as each one of us being in a race—and daily coming closer to the finish line.
The finish line. I think we can all imagine what that means. It really doesn’t matter who we are, or where we are. Our finish line is looming up ahead of us.
To the world, this is not a reassuring feeling. For them, the thought of “the end” can be uncertain, unsettling and even terrifying. They might try almost anything to prolong their days, but with little success.
But we, who hold this Christ within us, are of a completely different attitude: not fearing the end of this short life we now live, but instead looking forward to what God has preordained for us to do, and who to be.
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” (2 Timothy 4:7)
It’s great to think about being able to hang in there, finish your course (what God has purposed for you) and to know that a crown of life awaits you. But you might be trying to imagine how you will ever successfully run, at all.
Whether you’ve realized it or not, you are fully in this race.
The day you gave your heart to the Lord, repented of your past, and broke forth into your future in God’s kingdom—that was the day you bounded away from the starting line—full of dreams, and running your little heart out.
And why not? Everything was new. You were new—and you couldn’t wait to show the world.
But since that day, a lot of things have changed. The world has certainly changed. Unbelievers are a lot less receptive to your Jesus, and many of them don’t like you very much. Don’t worry. It is a sign of the times. All things, good and bad, must come to pass.
But you—you’re in the race. You’ve got to finish, and you need to finish well. But how, and why?
It is imperative that you know what this race is all about.
Know what to run for:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27)
The Apostle Paul uses the example of a natural race, to illuminate the struggle each and every Christian faces on a daily basis: to fight to the finish by focusing on the end of our faith, and to win.
Just like any natural runner who knows he or she must put forth an amazing amount of effort to win, Paul is instructing anyone with hopes of winning the prize to be fully engaged in the fight. He explains that anyone who longs to master such an event will need to be “temperate” in all things.
“Temperate” means to be self-controlled, or self-restrained. Restraint is good, but it’s a race to win, right? Shouldn’t I be trying to get there as fast as possible? Actually, no.
Because this isn’t some fast-paced sprint. This is the long race. The marathon event. The endurance run of a lifetime. (Or, as I love to call it, God’s Race of Grace.)
Each step—every foot fall, matters—and leads to the next one, and then to the next one. It is a steady and deliberate pace that requires training just to maintain it. Holy Spirit training.
Which brings us to our next point:
Know how to run:
Look again at Hebrews 12:1. This is a race run with patience—laying aside every weight of sin that holds you back.
This is a sure-footed, faith-filled run. It isn’t some frantic scramble to launch out ahead. And it isn’t some religious, forced march. It is something quite unique and personal.
It is the steadfast pace of a person who is learning to master both body and soul—something a lot of potential runners just aren’t able to do.
There must be a confidence—a knowing ability to reach from deep within, to find that substance—that stamina you are able to tap into, during the most exhausting stretches of road. And it is there. By God, it is there.
Make no mistake, you are fully engaged in the race. But it is how you view yourself—as seen through the eyes of He who calls you to run—that will make all the difference for you.
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Did you get that? You don’t need to be the fastest runner out there. And it’s not important how muscle-bound the runner may be. It’s more about time and chance.
Solomon’s wisdom explains that each one of us will receive exactly the amount of time required to run. And the Lord gives each one of us opportunities (a chance) to run.
God knows exactly what you will need in order to accomplish the goals set before you. This race you are in is absolutely doable, and it is completely winnable.
Know why you must run:
“If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:11 – 14)
The Apostle Paul certainly understood what he was talking about. He was pressing forward, toward the mark. That finish line. The ultimate purpose for why he, or any of us, are called into being His.
To win. To wonderfully and gloriously win. And to receive the prize of that high calling, by which we have been called. It is the unsearchable reward of faithfully following through until the end. Your finish line.
Your Lord and Master, Christ Jesus, calls out and spurs you on with every stride, shouting over the crowd of onlookers as you go.
“Keep going, child! Steady now…steady. Pace yourself. You’re nearly there. Don’t stop, friend. Don’t stop for anything. And don’t look back. I’m so proud of you. I’m waiting for you, right here.”
You need all of the help and encouragement that you can get. It can get rough out there. A strong wind of opposition right in your face. Debris scattered across your path that trips you up, and nearly makes you fall. And the competition can be brutal.
The competition? Yes, without a doubt. But it isn’t what you might think. Our true competition aren’t those who are struggling all around you. They are just fellow runners, doing their best with what they’ve got.
Your competition is much more sinister than any person could be.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
The race is all around us. Flesh and blood surrounds us at every turn. You might say that we are all in this race together.
But our fight is not with one another. We wrestle with darkness.
Darkness. Your competition. It disturbs, threatens and accuses. It taunts you from the sidelines, attempting to weaken your will and distract you. It mocks you, and makes you feel small.
It might create some fantasy, and cause you to forget your faith—and the reason why you press on.
Darkness doesn’t care if you finish your race in second place, or even last. Darkness is only concerned with one thing: stopping you from finishing at all.
Those principalities and powers do have a certain authority—but not over you. You are the marathoner, and you are doing the King’s business. So don’t listen to any of their lies.
They have no power over those in the race, as long as you don’t give them any attention. But they do hope to distract. They hope to intimidate. They hope to misinform the runner of what lies ahead.
Remember God’s reality. What lies ahead is everything and anything you could ever hope for. It’s so much more than you could imagine.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ, holding your prize—and dying to give it to you.
Remember why you got into this race in the first place. Yes, you were sorry and ashamed of your sinfulness, but it was so much more. You had caught a glimpse of Him—and the Prize before you. And you knew you had to have it. It was everything.
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)
Remember, you are to run at a steady, deliberate, calculated pace. Every day—every moment—counts for something.
No effort is wasted, when it is done for Him who calls. No hardships go unnoticed—He sees. He holds you together. He is your peace. He is your safety. Your shelter. He’s a kind word, when there aren’t any.
Draw your strength from Him. Gather your courage for Him. And you won’t faint in the heat of the day, or cower in the dark of the night.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Learn to wait upon your Lord. Let Him set your pace. He knows this road—He’s already run His race, long before you. He knows how to renew your strength. Listen well, and let Him lead the way.
Know when to run:
There can be uncertainty in running a race. But for those of us who follow Christ Jesus, the outcome of the race is certain.
So when should you run? Always—taking every opportunity to excel with every stride.
Run now—while you have the breath of life within you. Run now—while you have your chance and your time. The Lord, who sets this road before you, awaits you at your finish line. Run well—and run with assurance that He who calls you forward is faithful. He will keep you going.
There is a determination, even in your cadence, as you unwaveringly run toward that mark of your high calling. It is a sense of urgency to make every step count—to make every footfall effective for His kingdom.
And to expend—for His glory—every single breath you take in. Because every runner in the race is limited by their lifespan. It is the way of the Creator. It is finite—purposed for the infinite.
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14)
James tells us that life is only a vapor—something that is here today, but certainly may be gone by tomorrow.
Should you worry, or be afraid of such uncertainty? No—a thousand times, no.
Not when you know the One at the finish line.
So get up and run.
With patience, with diligence, and with purpose. Refuse the distractions and discouragements along your way.
Fight for it—with everything that’s within you. Finish your course. Run to win.
For God’s sake—run to win.
Let the wind of His Spirit propel you onward. Your Lord and your Life is leading you—urging you on to be all that you were meant to be.
Every footfall is a step into His strength. He has promised that. With each stride, you can feel it—His victory becoming your own. His heart of Joy within yours.
A great cloud of witnesses surrounds you, now up on their feet—cheering you onward, past the pain. Past the disappointments. Beyond the suffering of this one small life.
With your eyes fixed on Him, your feet no longer sense the ground. Your heart is all with Him, who calls you. And you run—with passion, and with purpose—pleased only with pleasing Him.
All of your strength is now expended on reaching Him. He is all you want. He is all you see. He is all you know, and all you run for.
He is the Author and the Finisher of your faith. Your First and your Last. Your great Reward.
He is your finish line.
And you are His prized and proven one.
Run, friend! Run for your life.