Running Your Race

I promise myself every summer that I am going to lose weight, eat better, exercise more, and take better care of myself. I start out really strong and usually lose a couple of pounds those first couple of weeks of summer.

But then it happens. It becomes boring and mundane and I go back to eating what I want and exercising less. I lose sight of my goal and more often than not, end up weighing exactly what I did when I started (maybe even a couple pounds more!).

I think that so many of us do this same exact thing in our relationship with God. Having a relationship with our Father requires dedication, honesty, and time. It requires us to be transparent and that is so difficult for many of us.

1 Timothy 4:7 says, "...train yourselves to be Godly. For physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

Looking good here on Earth is nice. I truly believe that God wants us to take care of ourselves and the bodies that He has given us. However, if we are not training ourselves to be Godly, we will not only miss out on things here on earth but will also miss out on things that God has for us in the life to come.

Training always makes me think of marathon runners. Our lives are so much like marathons in that we are all running a race trying to reach a goal. For those of us that love Jesus, our goal is pleasing Him in the lives that we live here on earth.

Sometimes I just close my eyes and picture Jesus cheering me on. I literally picture myself running for the finish line and Jesus saying, "You can do this, Andi! I am here waiting and I will help you get there. Keep running, don't give up! I love you and I won't give up you."

So how do we train for our marathon here on earth? Below are some ways that I believe God wants to us run our best race and stay on course...

God's Word - God's Word is like the water that runners receive along the way. Without receiving the water, the runners get tired and will not be able to finish the race. God's Word is our water. If we don't receive it, we will not be able to finish the race. We will become tired and unfocused.

Prayer - God is our coach in the race. If we don't communicate with our coach, we will not know what is best for our training. God helps us understand how we should train, why we should train, and what the end result of all of our training will be.

Focus - Runners in a marathon must focus on what is ahead. They focus on the finish line. They do not turn behind and look at what has already happened or what is headed their way. Instead they stay focused on the finish line and what they can do to finish strong. It does not benefit us to look behind us in our race. We must focus on the finish line and what we can do to finish strong.

All of these things are very important in our race. Without them, we will not finish successfully.

Think about your race. Are you running it with everything that you have? Are you training yourself to be godly or are you just running with no real focus and direction?

If you are at a difficult place in our race right now, close you eyes and picture Jesus cheering you on. He will not give up on you. He loves us and is calling out your name daily as you run, becoming closer and closer to being with Him.

Some Things to Think About:

1. Are you running your race picturing Jesus as your prize?
2. Are you training in a way that will result in godliness and Christlikeness?
3. Are you using God's word and prayer to run the race or are you trying to run it on your own?

Words of Worth:

"...train yourselves to be Godly. For physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:7-8

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 3:13-14