We lay aside every weight and clingy sin. In my case, chasing self-centered joy and personal accolades. Many things slow us down and eventually stall us in the race of faith. The lighter the endurance runner, the swifter the runner. Personal discipline is essential if we are to keep our eyes focused on Jesus.Įvery ounce counts in a foot race. We must welcome rebuke and embrace trials. We must seek fellowship among other believers and let our fellow church members encourage us in the faith. We must seek him daily in his word and in prayer. Likewise, as Christians, we work hard to strengthen our faith to endure the race of faith. Runners not only properly nourish their body and recover well, but they also work hard to build endurance. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 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. But we, like runners, must lay aside hindrances of our endurance. We get him! Forever! Thus, we all win God by persevering in faith and getting to the finish line. God makes us all winners when we cross the line. We don’t strive for the crown that only one can receive. In the Christian life, we run the race of faith. I wanted to win, and I wanted him to want me to win, too. I only wanted to praise God when he allowed my will to be done - when my will happened to be his will. I wanted God’s will to agree with my will more than I wanted my will to become God’s. Other times, a sinful desire to win crept into my heart. Sometimes, I possessed pure motives and would end my prayer with wanting God’s will to be done more than mine - even if that meant the dreadful loss. I prayed that God would enable me to win so I might have the opportunity to praise him for the victory. Cake and late-night slumber parties were not the only thing I needed to lay aside. I ultimately wanted to please God in my running ability, but I also struggled with running for the wrong reasons. In my own experience, a diet of lean protein with fruits and vegetables proved more successful along with going to bed earlier than my socially active peers. Clearly, a diet of ice cream and cake mixed with four hours of sleep is a recipe for disaster leading up to a race. It also means putting away poor eating and sleeping habits.
It takes hard work during practice and in the weight room. As a former collegiate distance runner, I understand what it takes to win a race.
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