My husband just participated in his first triathlon. A few months ago he came home from the gym and said they were sponsoring a triathlon. He asked me if I’d like to sign up also and I just laughed. I prefer to be the one on the sidelines cheering him on as I sip on a cup of coffee.
From the moment he signed up he began his training. He ran, swam and biked as much as possible each week. He came home exhausted, sometimes doubting that he should tackle this race; other times he came home encouraged that he was making progress. As the weeks progressed he progressed. With each workout it got a little less difficult – not easy, but less difficult.
Finally the day for the triathlon came. He was up early, ready to tackle the course. He was competing against a diverse group of athletes. Some were first timers like he was; others were veterans. Some were younger and others were older. He swam, biked and ran alongside them, watching some of them pass him and some of them he passed. He didn’t focus on those around him but focused on the finish line. At times his body screamed at him to slow down and at other times his mind was screaming at his body to speed up to which his body answered, “no way.” He kept his mind focused on the finish line and continued to push his body forward until he completed the race.
Hebrews 12 talks about running a different kind of race. It’s says “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I Timothy 4 tell us to train ourselves to be godly. Just as my husband trained physically for this triathlon, we are to train ourselves spiritually for this race we’re in – dealing with the sin in our lives and getting rid of anything that hinders us from continuing to grow in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. We run the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus, not on those around us. We don’t run their race. We run our own race, the race marked out for us and we run with perseverance.
There’s a great song that talks about us running in this race – Runner by Twila Paris. Check it out. The words will encourage you to continue to live purposefully with your heart and mind focused on the finish line, the day we’ll see our Savior. Live each day to hear “well done” at the end of your race. Run to win!
Make the most of your journey,
Molly
