Running the Race

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it."  ~1 Corinthians 9:24

"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."  ~Hebrews 12:1

Do you ever get tired of running?

I, for one, don't really enjoy running physically for exercise. I used to run some in college because it helped me lose that college weight really fast and easily. But as I've gotten older, whenever I try to run it hurts! My chiropractor told me that it's really not good to run--especially for women--because runners usually have lots of orthopedic issues later in life. So I use this as my excuse, and I don't run!

Obviously, the physical act of running is not what this verse is about. This verse is about running the race of life. Paul and the writer of Hebrews (some think Paul wrote it, but it's not known for sure) are telling us that this race is important.  We are to run (or live) this race (or life) that is set before us, and we are to do it in a way as to get the "prize."

These verses often pop into my head as I am feeling weary and ready to give up on being a good mom, wife or home maker. The Holy Spirit whispers it in my ear as I am thinking, *This just isn't worth it!* I will admit that there are plenty of times that I think that! Is the prize really worth it? How can I know this for sure? Sometimes I'm just so tired I want to give up. Sometimes my children are so stubborn and difficult that it seems that no matter how much I do or endure, I'm doing nothing worthwhile anyway. Sometimes after a night with only a couple of hours of sleep followed by a busy day out, I come home to mounds of laundry and housework, and it feels like I'm drowning--certainly not running!

There are some who have labeled me a Supermom. There could be nothing further from the truth! Yes, I have six children whom I homeschool, and I am running that race which has been set before me! If you don't already know, please let me be the one to inform you--there is no such thing as a Supermom! She is NOT to be found. So please stop trying to live up to her unrealistic expectations! I am not her nor do I know her, and if I did I am sure I wouldn't like her very much! So I'm so glad she's just a figment of our guilt ridden imaginations! Yes, I'm guilty of comparing myself to her as well--that perfect image of the put together woman with all her children submissively in tow, doing [whatever it is that makes her *super* to you.]

I think this is what makes running the race so difficult. We are running against imaginary racers. We are racing against people who don't even exist. We talk about grace and giving others grace, but do we give ourselves any? Do we understand the grace that God gives us? It is in this God given grace that we are free to run. Yes, we will make mistakes. Yes, we will falter and fall. Some of us may even have to go back to the start a few times! But we need to understand who or what we are truly running "against" in order to run the race set before us.

Hebrews tells us that we are running against the "weight and sin which clings so closely." So God's not up in heaven, rolling his eyes at me saying, "Look at Jill. Why can't she get it together like her friends who discipline better, train their children to work better, pray more, have better attitudes, have cleaner houses, iron their husband's work shirts?" And the list goes on.... God is not in the business of comparing his children. He desires for us to run this race against our own sinful desires, our own flesh, our own willfulness.

You see, we are justified at the moment of salvation. Right then and there our hearts are pure and clean--just as if we had never sinned! This is the free gift that we are given. But we all know that we don't live that way. We continue in sin because we continue to live in our flesh. Therefore God spends a lifetime sanctifying us. Every hurdle in the race, every bump in the road, every obstacle that gets thrown in our way, God uses for our sanctification. Yes, we are running this race to get the big prize, but there are all sorts of little trophies along the way! Those are the daily prizes that keep us going. Learning to be a little more patient with the 3 1/2 year old that just won't potty train; keeping your cool with two busy toddlers running in and out of the clothes rounders at the mall with all sorts of people staring at you; having the discipline to clean one more toilet, clean up the kitchen before falling into bed, pack for your husbands' business trip just because it would show him how much you love him....all of these things are examples of our sanctification. Yes, they are purposeful choices, but we can only choose them over and over because of God's grace.

We aren't getting "better" to earn our salvation. We've already got that! Nothing that we could do could make God love us any more or any less than he does right now or than he did at the foundation of the world! This race isn't about that. It's not some moralistic competition to see who can be the "best" Christian. It's much bigger than that! This race starts the moment we admit that we are sinners, repent of our sin, turn from it and ask Jesus to take it as far as the "east is from the west." This race will culminate on that glorious day when we will see our precious Jesus face to face and he will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Oh what an amazing day that will be! But all this time in between is what now we must endure. This is our race. Each of us have a different path set before us. We're not all on the same road. We all have different terrains that we must learn to run over. We may encounter some of the same obstacles, and we each have to figure out how God wants us to deal with them and what he wants us to learn--because he's going to teach us all different things even from the same experience sometimes.

Remember you are "surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses" so stick to the narrow path; stay on the steady course. Run the race set before you in a way that is pleasing and honoring to your Savior. Run with integrity. Run in a way that will point others to Jesus. These things will bring you great joy in the midst of the race.

Yes, sometimes I get tired of running the race that has been set before me. But my Jesus is faithful even when I am not. He is my rock and my fortress. He is my salvation. He is my shield and my defender, and he is my strength. And he promises that "they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." ~Isaiah 40:31. So I will continue to run, and I will claim my prize that Jesus is saving for me--my crown of righteousness--on the day that he tells me "Well done, good and faithful servant." I am SO excited for that day!