How was the battle this week? Hopefully not so overwhelming
that you feel mortally wounded! Paul's first description of his life - the good
fight - can carry the idea of death and danger; the second description tends
more toward exhaustion and endurance. "I have finished my course" (II
Timothy 4:7). Paul talks about a race, and you know that this is no mere
sprint. This is a marathon. It is a race that never ends until we reach glory.
Running is not easy. Some people really enjoy it. When I was
in college, one of my friends tried to inspire me with her interest in running.
Over a month or two, I began to build my stamina, until I was able to run each
evening with some success. Then I went home for a week and didn't run while I
was home. When I returned to campus, I never started again. I knew there would
be some challenge in getting back to where I had been, and I just didn't have
the heart to go through that. I've never again tried to get into running.
My health has held some significant setbacks over the years,
with lots of ups and downs. A few years ago, I was in an upward surge. I was
walking regularly, and one day I felt so good that I thought I would try
running. I didn't go far - maybe 100 feet - and that was the end of that. I am
resigned to the likelihood that this body will never run again! But there is a
spiritual race that must be run by us all, whether we are physically athletic
or not.
Intimidation, fear, and discomfort cannot keep us from this
race. We can't shy away from the challenge. As Paul considered past and
impending threats to himself, he declared, "But none of these things move
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify
of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). God had put a race in front of Paul,
and he was unwavering. He was determined to run that race no matter what. Your
race is also divinely-designed, and you also can have joy in finishing the race
you have been given.
Paul talked again about the joy of finishing the race. "Holding
forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have
not run in vain, neither laboured in vain" (Philippians 2:16). His expected
joy was to be found in knowing that his race mattered. It wasn't just running
for the sake of running. It wasn't running with no destination in mind. It
wasn't running his heart out only to find that the race had been discontinued
or the prize withdrawn. Because the race was centered on eternal things, Paul's
effort was not vain, and neither is yours. What you do today matters for
eternity.
The prize makes the race worth running, particularly in the
spiritual race. Paul encourages us to run not casually or half-heartedly, but
with diligence and with the desire to run successfully. "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" (I Corinthians 9:24-26). The prize
that awaits us is significant - not a cheap trophy that will tarnish and gather
dust. No, this race matters, so we must dedicate and discipline ourselves to
run it well and with firm resolve.
There is inspiration for the race. Primarily, we have Jesus
as our example. He ran faithfully. The race was not easy or pleasant for Him
either, but He looked past the pain to focus on the eternal glory. We are to be
inspired and encouraged by His example. "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. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of
our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider
him ... lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:1-3). Yes,
our minds get weary and faint in this race that exhausts us at a level beyond
the physical, but looking at Jesus' example helps us to go on. And when we're
properly focused on Him, we lay aside some of the extraneous things of life
that would hinder our progress.
Wonderfully, there is even divine strength for the race. I
can't run it on my own, and neither can you. We would spend most of our time
fallen in the mud and with pulled hamstrings! But God can give us strength and
endurance that we don't have. He can enable us to run when our resources are
totally depleted. We need to look to Him, expectantly and dependently. "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).
Indeed, God can help us to run races that we never thought
possible and to overcome obstacles in that race that seem insurmountable. "For
by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a
wall" (Psalm 18:29). The race is not too hard for God - or for us with
God's help. Keep running - one step at a time, with eyes on Jesus for
inspiration, and with a focus on the eternal reward. Runners say, "No
pain, no gain." There is pain, but the result is worth it!
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holtmember at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com
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